Collision Theory
by theoofoof
Summary: When a car crash hits close to home can the Major Crimes division find those responsible whilst dealing with the fallout and their own personal relationships. Shandy
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Okay, so this is my first Major Crimes fic so I'm a little nervous about it. Please bear in mind that I'm not American so there may be some spelling irregularities and despite my research, I'm forseeing some mistakes with regard to American geography/laws/culture etc. Can we maybe call it artistic license?

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

As the silver Mercedes cruised along Mulholland Drive, the passenger reached over and clasped the driver's hand in his as it rested on the gear lever. She turned to him and flashed him a smile. They had had a wonderful evening, he'd surprised her with dinner and then taken her dancing. They didn't get to go out that often, with work schedules and domestic commitments, and this had been a much overdue chance to reconnect.

"Thank you for tonight," she said, before turning her attention back to the road. "I felt like I was nineteen again and on a first date."

"You remember what else nineteen year olds do on dates, right?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. "I'll give you a hint, it involves dirt tracks and backseats of cars."

She laughed, letting his hand drop to have both hands on the wheel as she negotiated a bend. "Not me, I was a good girl."

"So you never felt like you missed out? Never wanted to be a bad girl?" She shot him a look. "I only ask, because there's a turn off not too far from here where we could…y'know." His now free hand had found its way to her knee and was trailing it's way slowly up her thigh. "That is, if you wanted to take that rebellious streak that I know you have out for a spin?" His voice had taken on that low, seductive tone she couldn't resist.

"Mmmm. Where do I turn?"

"It's just a bit further up her on the- Shit! Watch out!"

Suddenly there was an almighty bang; the sound of screeching brakes and breaking glass filling the air. The air bags deployed with a pop and the car spun towards the edge. Where it tipped and began rolling. The noise was deafening, like the roar of an airplane at take-off. Then there was nothing. No spinning, no noise. Nothing. Just the creeping darkness.

* * *

"What have we got?" asked Detective Phillips as he ducked under the crime scene tape.

"Car came off the road up there," the patrol officer reported, pointing up to the higher section of the highway. Phillips shielded his eyes from the glare of the work lights and looked up. "Took a hit to the driver's side, spun towards the edge and rolled down here, where it narrowly missed another car. The driver of that car, Mr Lewis, was the one who called it in – he's giving his statement now sir."

"That's one heck of a fall." Detective Phillips looked over the mangled remains of the car and grimaced; it was not a pretty sight. The driver's side door was crushed in, bending the car into almost a v shape. The roof was dented and scratched from where it had rolled down the rocky terrain and all the windows were smashed. Paramedics and firemen were on scene, attempting to extract the victims. "And the other vehicle involved in the collision?"

"Not here sir. We've sent a couple of back up units to search further up and down the route sir, but nothing yet."

"What do we know about the occupants?"

"One female, the driver and a male passenger, unconscious when patrol arrived. We have their licenses. We're running their names now, looking for next of kin," he informed, waving his hand at the officer who was searching the databases.

Phillips winced at the eerie sound of the gas operated saw as it began cutting through the metal of the front pillars to remove the roof.

"Detective, I think you should see this." The officer who was running the names ran over with his iPad. He handed it to Detective Phillips.

Scanning the details on the screen, Phillips' face fell. "Oh hell."

He looked once more at the scene of devastation in front of him. "Listen up everyone!" he called, trying to make himself heard over the whirring and grinding of the machinery. "Everything here needs to be done by the book. He held the iPad screen up to the crowd. "This involves one of our own."

The assembled officers nodded sombrely and returned to their tasks as Detective Phillips turned back to the patrol officer. "When the victims are clear of the vehicle I want SID to go over both it, and the crime scene with a fine tooth comb. We cannot afford to miss anything here. Do I make myself clear?

His piece said, Phillips made his way back behind the crime scene tape to make some phone calls in the relative quietness of his car.

* * *

The shrill ringing of her cell relentlessly permeated Sharon's deep sleep. Groaning, she rolled over and reached out blindly for her phone, unable for several moments to force her eyes open. Limbs weighted and dull, she pushed herself up onto her elbows and glanced at the caller ID. Her eyes took a few moments to focus on the brightness of the display against the darkness of her bedroom.

"Lieutenant Provenza?"

"I'm sorry to wake you Captain, but we have a situation," he said gravely.

The tone in his voice made Sharon sit up. "What kind of situation?"

"A silver Mercedes came off of Mulholland Drive near Coldwater Canyon just after eleven thirty."

"Traffic accidents aren't usually a major crime Lieutenant. What makes this one so special?"

"Oh no. It's not... Sorry captain, I'm not explaining myself very well. We haven't caught this case."

"Then why are you ringing me at…" She looked at the clock. "1.21am?" She'd been asleep less than three hours which would normally make this kind of rude awakening a mere inconvenience, but the fact that she and the rest of her division had just come off an almost 48-hour shift meant that it was more a downright annoyance.

Provenza sighed. "Because of the identity of the driver."

The gravity of his tone made her anxious. "Who is it?" There was a deafening silence on the other end. "Lieutenant, who was driving the car?" Sharon pressed, the feeling of dread in her stomach growing by the second.

"It was Flynn's daughter."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thank you for all the comments and reviews about the first chapter - I'm glad so many of you are on board with this. Thanks also to _quirkette100_ who has kindly agreed to beta this story for me. You should check out her stories too, she's very talented. Just a heads up, I can't promise updates will be this regular in the future... I am back to work next week, with a class of thirty 5 and 6 year olds to keep me busy. But I will try not to keep you hanging for too long.

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Sharon leant against the wall of the elevator as it made its journey up to the trauma centre at Cedars Sinai. Her head was spinning; she'd gotten dressed and made it to the hospital in just over half an hour and hadn't really had time to process what Provenza had told her.

 _"_ _It was Flynn's daughter."_

 _Provenza's words hit her like a wrecking ball and she fell back against the pillows in shock._

 _"_ _And her husband was in the passenger seat."_

 _"_ _What about the boys, Nicole's stepsons?"_

 _"_ _They were with Gina; she was babysitting." That was right, Nicole had mentioned that Dean was taking her out and that her mother was watching the children._

 _The relief she felt knowing the boys were not harmed was fleeting. "Why are you…? I mean, how did you…?" She shook her head in attempt to organise her thoughts. "What happened?"_

 _As Provenza began his explanation, Sharon got up. She grabbed the first jumper and pair of jeans she could find and began dressing, putting the phone on speaker so she could continue to communicate with her Lieutenant._

 _"_ _I'm not clear on the details of the accident itself yet. Just that when they ran her details to look for next of kin, the incident commander, Detective Phillips, recognised Flynn's name – they'd worked together before. They sent a black and white to both his and Gina's houses. Gina was in, but Flynn wasn't home. Wasn't answering his phone either. Phillips knew that he and I were partners so he called me, figuring I'd know where he was."_

 _"_ _He had an AA meeting."_

 _Thursday nights were one of the few nights Andy didn't spend at Sharon's condo. The meeting tended to run late, they'd had a surge of new attendees and they often needed extra support. Andy would sit and talk with them for a while after the meeting, maybe take them for a coffee at the all night diner across the street. It just made more sense for him to go straight home. She'd suggested that he maybe give it a miss last night, and go home and rest, but he'd said no, that he needed to be there. That he couldn't let people down like that._

 _"_ _Right, just like every Thursday. He's becoming a creature of habit. I blame you for that by the way. Anyway, I swung by the meeting, picked him up and brought him to the hospital. I was going to call you sooner, but the idiot insisted that we wait; that you needed to sleep."_

 _Sharon shook her head; that man could be so stubborn at times. "Which hospital?"_

 _"_ _Cedars. We're in the trauma centre."_

 _"_ _I'll be right there." She went to disconnect the call but changed her mind. "Lieutenant? How bad is it?"_

 _"_ _They've taken them both straight through to surgery. Doctors aren't saying anything as per usual. They both had to be cut from the car, Phillips said it was a right mess." Sharon heard him swallow gravely. "It doesn't look good."_

 _"_ _Thank you Lieutenant."_

 _Hanging up, she quickly ran a brush through her hair before picking up her jacket and heading out into the living area. She was surprised to find Rusty sprawled out on the sofa._

 _"_ _Rusty! I thought you were in bed. What are you still doing up?"_

 _"_ _My movie just finished." He indicated the credits rolling on the television before looking Sharon up and down. Taking in her appearance he deduced that she wasn't heading to work. "Is everything okay?"_

 _She pulled on her boots. "I need to get to Cedars. Andy's daughter has been in a car accident."_

 _"_ _Nicole?" Sharon nodded. "Is it bad?"_

 _"_ _I don't really know, but it sounds pretty serious."_

 _"_ _Do you want me to come with you? I could drive you?" he suggested._

 _"_ _No, no, you've got classes tomorrow," she said, holstering her gun and donning her badge, more out of habit than of need. "Go to bed. I'll call you if…" Her voice trailed off, the implication of what wasn't said weighing heavily in the air, "…if we need you. I mean it Buster. Bed. Now."_

The sound of the elevator doors opening drew Sharon from her thoughts. She stepped out and looked up and down the corridor, searching for Andy or Provenza. When she didn't see them, she approached the desk.

"Captain Sharon Raydor, LAPD. I'm looking for the family of Nicole Rodgers. I believe they're on this floor?"

"They certainly are Ma'am," replied the desk clerk with a tight smile. "They're in one of our designated relatives' rooms. Room 608. Just down the hall there," she pointed. "Fourth door on the left."

"Thank you." Though confused a little by the attitude, Sharon nodded at the young woman and made her way down the corridor. As she approached room 608, she could hear raised voices coming from inside. The desk clerk's exasperated response was suddenly becoming clearer. She paused with her hand on the door knob and listened.

"I don't even know what you're doing here!" The woman was clearly hysterical and Sharon could only assume it was Gina.

Andy's gruff voice growled back. "I have every right to be here, she's my daughter too."

"Yes, when you're sober enough to remember you actually have one." Yes, it was definitely Gina.

"Now you listen here!" When Provenza's voice entered into the mix, Sharon decided that enough was enough. She knocked briefly on the door before opening it.

She felt like she had walked in on a standoff. Andy and Provenza were stood on one side of the room, the latter wagging his finger at Gina, who was stood on the other side, her new husband, Martin and another, younger man sat behind her. Nicole's step-sons, Devon and Kodey were lay along several chairs. Thankfully, they were sleeping so deeply that the argument between Andy and Gina hadn't disturbed them.

At the sound of someone entering, everyone's heads snapped to the door, expecting a nurse or a doctor. Provenza sighed with relief – perhaps now Sharon had arrived, he could leave before he said something to the former Mrs Flynn that he would regret. Gina rolled her eyes, muttered something unintelligible under her breath and then turned away and Andy looked surprised. "Sharon?" He turned to his partner. "I told you not to call her."

Provenza shrugged. "Yeah, well, you're an idiot."

"Andy?" Sharon stepped close to him and placed her hand on his arm. He was far too tense and it wasn't good for his blood pressure. She felt the murderous gaze from Gina burning into the back of her head and knew she needed to get them out of there before the situation deteriorated any further. "Why don't we go and find some coffee, hmm? You look like you could use some."

"I'm not leaving. Not until I know how Nicole is."

Sharon looked pleadingly at Provenza, as she rubbed Andy's back soothingly.

"I'll stay here," he offered. "If anything happens, I'll call. You have my word. Go on, go with the Capt- with Sharon," he corrected. Here she wasn't his boss, she was his best friend's girlfriend.

Under the hard stare of his partner and the calming effect of Sharon, Andy visibly deflated. "Okay," he nodded and let Sharon lead him out into the corridor.

Out of sight from Andy's ex-wife, Sharon now felt free to wrap her arms around him and give him the comfort he needed. He leaned into her embrace, burying his head in her neck. She continued to rub his back until he calmed. "Why didn't you call?" she whispered.

Andy shrugged. "All we're doing is waiting around for information. I thought it better to let you sleep and call you when we knew something definite."

Sharon looked at him sceptically, sensing there was more to it than that. "And?"

He sighed. "And… I knew Gina would be here and I didn't want you to have to deal with any of her… drama."

"Andy…" She pulled out of the embrace and took his hand, leading them to sit down on some plastic chairs. "I have dealt with murderers on an almost weekly basis for the past four years and before that I was the Wicked Witch of Internal Affairs. I think I can handle Gina."

He smiled. "Yeah, you probably can."

"I would much rather be here surviving on three hours sleep than at home, oblivious to what's happening. I want to be here for you and for Nicole. I care about her too; you know?"

"Yeah, I know that." He sighed. "I'm sorry. I should've called. Provenza's right, I'm an idiot."

"I think I'll forgive you, given the circumstances." She stood up and tugged on his hand to get him to join her. "Come on, the sooner we find that coffee, the sooner we can get back and wait for the doctor."

Andy fell into step beside Sharon as they walked towards the cafeteria. He reached out for her hand, interlacing their fingers. The next few hours and days would most likely be filled with uncertainty but he felt stronger facing it with her by his side.

* * *

 **A/N:** Reviews keep my muse fed and watered...


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Thanks for all your comments - I really appreciate them. Forgot to say that in terms of Shandy, this series is AU after Snitch - which should become clear in this chapter. I may use some characters/events from the series who appear after that, but in terms of the relationship, we're in AU territory. Hope that makes sense.

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Sharon and Andy had just paid for the coffee when Provenza called. Detective Phillips had arrived to update them on the investigation. They quickened their pace back to the relatives' room, eager to hear what was happening. Opening the door, they could hear the tail end of a uniformed officer's description of the accident.

"…down the embankment before stopping on Coldwater Canyon Drive."

Andy stepped over the threshold. Gina was seated next to her husband, two officers perched on the coffee table in front of them. He glared at his ex-wife. "What, you couldn't wait for me?" He slammed the tray of coffees onto the table so forcefully the hot liquid sloshed over the sides of the cups.

Provenza held up his pocket book. "It's okay Flynn, I took notes."

Detective Phillips stood and extended his hand. "Andy."

"Hey." Flynn shook the younger man's hand and patted him on the shoulder. "So, you're a detective now huh?"

"Yeah, well, once you moved on and I got a half-decent mentor…"

"Kid still thinks he's a comedian," Andy rolled his eyes at Provenza.

Provenza shrugged. "He must have a sense of humour if he transferred to traffic!"

Detective Philips ignored the good-natured ribbing paused and studied his former mentor; he looked more drawn than he'd ever seen him. "I'm sorry about what's happened."

Andy nodded. "Thanks. Just do me a favour Mickey, find the scumbag who did this, yeah?"

Sharon, who had been hovering in the doorway, stepped further into the room. "Hello Detective Phillips."

Phillips' eyebrows raised in surprise at finding Captain Raydor at the hospital too. "Captain, I wasn't expecting you. We've got a handle on this, we don't need Major Crimes to-"

Sharon held up her hand. "I'm not here in a professional capacity, Detective."

Andy got straight to the point. "So you got any leads?"

He indicated the patrol officer who had accompanied him. "This is Officer Venn; he was first on scene."

"There's no CCTV on that stretch of road," Venn began, "but we're checking cameras in the surrounding area, looking for any vehicles that look like they've sustained damage."

"SID are all over the scene," continued Phillips, "measuring skid marks, collecting paint samples, the usual. We're still waiting on the results from the BAC and tox screens but-"

"BAC?! Are you trying to claim my daughter was drunk behind the wheel? That's bullshit Mickey. What about the other car?"

Sharon's hand found its way to his forearm. "Andy, it's just procedure. You know that. No one is suggesting anything. They just have to rule it out."

Gina scowled at her ex-husband's behaviour and at Sharon's attempts to placate him. "Carry on Detective."

"As I was saying, we're waiting on those test results to come back, but from what my guys are telling me, we could be looking at a deliberate collision."

"No!" cried Gina. "That's not possible! Who would want to hurt my baby girl?" She turned and buried her face in her husband's shirt. Andy rolled his eyes, Gina always did have a flair for the dramatic.

"That's what we need to find out Ma'am. Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt your daughter?" He looked between Gina and Andy.

Seeing that his ex-wife was in no state to answer, Andy spoke up. "No. Nicole's a good wife, mom, friend. She's a fair boss, and seems popular with her colleagues and subordinates from what I've heard."

Andy's son, Shane returned to the room and, upon hearing his father's rounded on him, "And what would you know about it? You've not been around enough to know. If you weren't at work, you were propping up a bar in some dive somewhere."

As Shane continued to rant, Andy didn't defend himself. He stood there and let Shane shout. He'd learnt from past confrontations, and from the counsellor, that is was better to let him get out all his frustrations before responding. When his son had finished his tirade, Andy looked him in the eye and spoke calmly. "Listen, Shane. I may not have been the best Dad in the past. I'm painfully aware of how I've screwed up. But I've made amends with your sister. I've tried to make amends with you too but you've not allowed me to – and that's your decision. But Nicole and I are a lot closer these days. We try and get together for dinner a couple of times a month." He glanced at Gina, gauging her reaction; unsure if Nicole had discussed these dinners with her mother. For her part Gina looked surprised, but not angry. "In fact, we had dinner on Monday evening." Shane shook his head before turning away; he couldn't quite bring himself to believe it.

Detective Phillips jotted this down in his notebook. "And how did she seem?"

"She was fine. We had a great time. She…" Andy choked up, thinking about the fact that just over 72 hours ago, he'd been laughing and joking with his daughter who was now in a life-threatening situation. Assuming that his partner wouldn't want him to witness his break down, Provenza glanced at Sharon and indicated that he was going to wait outside.

Patting Andy's arm, Sharon spoke up. "She was happy. Excited about going out tonight."

"Excuse me Captain, but how would you know that?" asked Officer Venn, confused as to why Captain Raydor was answering for the victim's father.

Sharon fiddled with the hem of her sweater. "I was there, along with my youngest son," Sharon replied, more confidently than she felt.

A knowing look entered Phillip's eyes. "I see."

Although she and Andy had been together for almost six months, they had yet to go public with their relationship. Their children knew, as did Provenza but she hadn't reported it to Taylor yet. There were no restrictions about officers dating other officers, or even about relationships between superior personnel and those directly under their command, but they were under obligation to disclose it. It wasn't like her not to follow the rules, but she and Andy wanted to be sure that they could make a relationship work before informing her superiors.

Of course, that would have to change now, and quickly; she made a note to schedule a meeting with him as soon as possible. It wasn't something she was looking forward to; discussing her romantic life with the LAPD's biggest gossip. She'd always strived to keep her professional and personal lives separate but she hadn't banked on falling in love with her lieutenant. And love him she did.

Andy reached up for her hand, covering it with his. Sharon resolutely ignored the look of shock on her fellow officers faces and continued. "Nicole told me that tonight was a surprise, that Dean had set it all up as they hadn't spent much time alone together of late. All she knew was that she had to be home from work on time and dress up. She'd even treated herself to a new dress." She had shown Sharon a picture on her phone and the two of them had gushed over it for several minutes before talking accessories. Andy and Rusty had merely rolled their eyes at them, before returning to their discussion about Rusty's latest assignment.

"So her husband wasn't present at this dinner?" Officer Venn pressed. "Does your daughter often socialise alone?"

The implication in the question was clear and had Andy scowling again. "No. He was at home with the boys. They couldn't get a sitter."

"You know we have to ask these questions Flynn. You'd do the same if you were stood here."

"Yeah, but I'd do it with a little more tact."

Despite the situation, Sharon had to supress a smirk; 'Andy' and 'tactful', weren't exactly two words she'd put together.

"My daughter's marriage was solid," added Gina, who'd finally calmed down but had yet to release her husband's shirt. "She and Dean were very happy."

Detective Phillips pursed his lips. "What about her husband? Can you think of any reason someone might want to hurt him?"

Everyone present shook their heads. The idea that anyone would deliberately hurt Nicole or Dean was just preposterous.

"Okay," Phillips said after a moment. "That will be all for now. We'll let you know when we have the results of the BAC."

They saw themselves out, but Sharon followed them into the hallway. "Detective Phillips, I know you said you've got a handle on this, but if there's anything Major Crimes can do, if you need access to extra resources or expenses, then we'd be more than happy to help."

"Thank you Captain, I'll bear that in mind."

Sharon leant down to her Lieutenant who had taken a seat outside. "You should go home, Lieutenant. Get some rest."

"If it's all the same to you, I think I'll hang around. At least until we know something."

"Okay. If you insist." She patted him gratefully on the shoulder as she moved back to the door.

"Captain?" Sharon paused with her hand on the relative's room door handle. "I know we can't request Nicole's test results, or the accident report, but if we just happened to come across them then…"

"Then I would be duty bound to return them to Traffic." Provenza was about to protest about the rules when she continued. "Having said that, we could be talking about a deliberate hit on the daughter of an LAPD officer. I'd consider that a major crime, wouldn't you?"

"Oh, most definitely."

Hearing the click of the door behind him, Provenza pulled out his phone and hit speed dial. After a few moments, the call connected. "Mike, we've got a situation… Have you still got that contact in SID? … Well, let's just put it this way; you might need to buy a few crates of Kahlua for what we need…"

* * *

 **A/N:** For those of you who didn't watch The Closer, the last line is a reference to something that happened in the first series - Mike used to gift someone in SID with bottles of Kahlua for speeding up results etc.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Waiting was something Sharon usually considered herself quite good at. When you'd raised children and dealt with uncooperative colleagues and suspects on a regular basis, a good degree of patience was necessary. Sharon had patience. She had it by the bucket-load. And yet, as she sat in this bland, beige room with Andy, waiting for news of Nicole and Dean, she could feel it running out.

The muscles in Andy's arms were tense under her fingertips, bunched, and as time dragged on, without any news, Sharon began to worry about his blood pressure. It had been almost three hours since she had arrived at the hospital, and Nicole had already been in surgery for at least an hour by then.

Every so often, he'd twist sobriety ring around his finger, look at his watch or check his phone. When the door had opened about an hour ago, Andy had sat forward on the edge of his seat, expecting the doctor. When Provenza entered with another round of coffee for everyone, he'd flopped back into the chair, visibly deflated.

Gina wasn't faring much better, wringing her hands in her lap. Periodically, she'd shift position on her chair, unable to settle. Her husband, Martin, was hunched over, his elbows resting on his knees. He kept glancing at the clock, sighing when it had barely moved. Shane was unconsciously tapping a pencil against his leg, occasionally bringing it to his mouth and chew on it for a moment. The gesture reminded Sharon of a younger Andy, who in every review meeting she'd called him to, would have a toothpick hanging out of his mouth. She hadn't spent much time around Shane before, but now that she had the opportunity to watch him, she could see he shared many traits with his father; impatience, hot-headed, sarcastic. She wondered if either of them realised just how similar they were.

Every so often either Shane or his mother would glance over to the corner in which Sharon and Andy were sat, her head on his shoulder, his hand clasped tightly in hers, and scowl. She wasn't welcome here. She knew it and so did Andy; it was why he hadn't called her himself. But she would stick it out. For Andy's sake she would draw on her years of experience in FID and pull up the mask; her impenetrable 'Darth Raydor' exterior. She would ignore all the looks, the muttered barbs and insults, and focus on what was important here and now: Andy and Nicole.

Andy had taken to pacing the room when the door opened signalled the arrival of Nicole's doctor. The eagerness to hear any news had everyone on their feet. Sharon moved to stand by Andy and he grasped her hand tightly for support.

The doctor ran a hand through his short brown hair; he looked worn, his tie askew and the beginnings of five o'clock shadow on his face. "I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting, but I wanted to wait until Nicole was out of surgery and I had something concrete to tell you."

Andy stepped forward. "Is she okay?"

"Nicole suffered some considerable injuries from the crash," he stated gravely. "As well as a broken arm, and a concussion plus several lacerations on her face and arms, there was a lot of internal abdominal damage. We managed to stop the bleeding and repair most of the damage but we had to perform an emergency open splenectomy."

"A splenectomy?" Gina was unfamiliar with this procedure.

"They had to remove her spleen." Everyone turned to look at Sharon, who had spoken automatically without realising. She looked up at Andy and offered a light shrug.

The doctor nodded at Sharon and began to explain to the rest of the family. "The spleen is an organ, about the size of a fist, which is found in the upper left of the abdomen. It forms part of the body's immune system; fighting infections, controlling the level of blood cells and filters out any old of damaged blood cells."

"That sounds pretty important Doc." Andy asked, worried about long-term effects. "Will she be okay without it."

"Essentially, yes. The liver will take over many of the spleens functions. However, she may be more susceptible to infections and any infections she does pick up can be more serious and may require hospital admission."

"She'll probably have to take low-dose antibiotics for the rest of her life," Sharon added. She felt everyone's eyes on her once more and cursed her tiredness for not being able to control her mouth. At Andy's questioning gaze, Sharon explained; "My father had his removed a few years ago. Not under the same circumstances, but he's doing well." She offered Gina what she hoped was a comforting smile. At the end of day, she was a mother who was worried about her child; Sharon could relate to that. "He takes his meds and has to have regular check-ups with his physician but he leads a full and active life."

This relaxed Andy slightly. He'd met Sharon's father last July. The two of them and Rusty had driven north to spend the weekend with her parents at their lodge for the Independence Day weekend. Andy had been slightly apprehensive, given the similar history he shared with Jack, but William and Nancy O'Dwyer had welcomed him with open arms. And, despite his advanced age, and apparent lack of a spleen, Andy could attest to the fact that William was healthy and active. As Nicole was considerably younger, Andy felt confident that she wouldn't be hindered by the procedure.

"We'll keep on her high dose IV antibiotics to minimise the risk of infection while she's here but, your wife is right, Nicole will need to take daily medication for the rest of her life."

Sharon and Andy spoke up at the same time to correct the doctor's assumption. "Oh I'm not…" "She's not…"

"She's his girlfriend," provided Shane, a hint of distaste in his voice.

"Oh my apologies. I just assumed."

Andy waved off his mistake. "That's alright Doc, no harm done. So is Nicole awake? Can we see her?"

"She's still in recovery for the moment. You can see her once she's settled in ICU."

Gina's eyes widened. "ICU?"

"Nicole will be heavily sedated for a few days. She suffered a massive head trauma, so I'd like for the swelling around her brain to lessen a little before we bring her round."

"And Dean?" Martin asked.

"He'll be in ICU too. I'm afraid I can't give you any more information other than that as technically, you aren't his next of kin."

"But his parents are out of the country," objected Gina.

A knock on the door took the doctors attention for a moment. "Yes, I believe so. Which brings us to another, slightly sensitive issue." His gaze wandered to the two young boys still sleeping soundly on the hospital chairs, before opening the door.

A woman with a clipboard entered; a woman who was all too familiar to Sharon.

"Cynthia?"

"Captain Raydor. Lieutenant Flynn."

At the arrival of Rusty's old case worker, Andy was on his feet. "You called DCFS?!"

"I'm afraid it's hospital policy."

Gina looked between the doctor and Cynthia. "What? Why?"

Cynthia stepped forward. "Because, right now, Mrs…" she glanced down at her clipboard, "…Walker, these boys have no-one to take care of them."

"Of course they do," she protested. "They have us."

"I appreciate that, I do. However, Nicole does not have parental rights over her stepsons. Which means that, legally, you don't have the right to custody."

Andy threw his hands up. "This is ridiculous!"

"I know this is upsetting. Really, I do. But I'm afraid that is the law." She looked down at her clipboard. "Do you have a way of getting in touch with their mother?"

"You want to get in touch with their mother? Well, good look with that," was Andy's sarcastic reply. "Their mother left, divorced their father and disappeared. The boys haven't seen her in five years. Hell, Kodey was less than a year old – he wouldn't even know her."

"If we can't find her, then they'll need foster care."

"So what, we're supposed to just hand them over to you so you can dump them with strangers?" asked Shane, sounding an awful lot like his father. "Well, I can tell you right now, that ain't happening lady."

"Come on Cynthia," said Andy, "is there nothing we can do here… it's a pretty unique situation."

"It's not as unique as you'd think Lieutenant. And no, there is nothing we can do. These boys require emergency care."

"They have care," argued Shane.

"Okay, let me ask you this. What's going to happen in the morning? A hospital waiting room is not a suitable place for them to spend their time, neither is ICU which is where I'm informed that both their father and stepmother will be, so I assume you all will be as well. Is that really what's best for them here?"

Shane was not convinced. "It's better than what you're suggesting. My sister loves these boys like they're her own. _We_ love them like they're her own. They should stay with one of us."

While Nicole's family argued with Cynthia, Sharon noticed that the eldest of Nicole's step-son's, Devon, was shifting about in his sleep. She moved to sit with him, stroking his hair lightly to try and sooth him into a deeper sleep. But it was no good, his eyes fluttered opened and he looked around blearily. He was awake and the argument going on less than ten feet away, had piqued his interest.

He sat up rubbing his eyes. "What's going on? Where are we?"

"We're at the hospital," Sharon explained gently. "Your Dad and Nicole were in a little accident and the doctors are making them better."

Devon looked at the other adults in the room. His grandparents and uncle were talking to a doctor and a lady who he didn't know. They hadn't even noticed he was awake. He could see tears in his Grandma Gina's eyes and Grandpa Andy and Uncle Shane looked angry. He wondered why. That thought gave way to others as his sleep addled brain cleared slightly, and within moments, his head was full of worst case scenarios and 'what ifs'. He felt overwhelmed. "Are Daddy and Nicole… Are they going to die?" he asked quietly, his bottom lip trembling.

Sharon gathered him onto her lap as his tears began to fall and cuddled him. "The doctors are taking very good care of them both, okay honey?" Devon nodded, his sobbing catching the attention of the assembled family and Cynthia. Both Gina and Andy stepped forward to offer comfort, but Andy reached him first. He bent down next to Sharon and stroked Devon's hair.

Watching Sharon press a kiss to the top of Devon's head, an idea took root in Cynthia's mind. "Alright, there might be something I can do here. Let me just make a couple of calls."

* * *

 **A/N:** At this point I feel I should remind you that, as I'm British, I have very limited knowledge of Californian child custody/guardianship laws so you may have to suspend your disbelief as we move forward with this... Hopefully you'll still enjoy the story.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** I am so sorry for the delay in getting this out! Work has been... intense, shall we say. This chapter follows on directly from where the previous one left off, so feel free to skip back to refresh your memory.

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

Shane followed Cynthia out into the hallway, wanting to reiterate to her how he felt about the situation. A pleading look from Gina sent Martin after him to keep an eye on the situation. Fatigued, Gina returned to her seat as Andy attempted to comfort his grandson, who was still sobbing into Sharon's jumper. "Hey buddy, you okay?"

Devon shook his head. "I want Daddy," he whimpered against Sharon's chest, his words punctuated by sobs.

"I know," Andy soothed. "But your Daddy's with the doctors right now, so we might have to wait a little while. You'll need to be brave, okay? Do you think you can do that for me? Hmm?"

"I'll try Grandpa Andy," he sniffled. "I'll try."

Andy ruffled his hair. "Good lad." He pushed himself up from the floor, his knees protesting at the movement, and took a seat next to Sharon as she rocked Devon side to side, whispering soft words of comfort and rubbing his back to calm him. Devon's sobbing became nothing more than a few wet sniffles and he reached for his grandfather's hand, wanting further comfort from him. Andy's hand instinctively clasped around Devon's, stroking his thumb gently across the boys knuckles.

Gina watched Andy curiously. It was like being transported back to when their own children were young. She was faced with the startling reality that she'd managed to avoid for over twenty years; Andy had been a decent husband and father, once, before the alcohol. Yes, he had worked long hours, but when he was around he had been good with the kids. It was only after his addiction had taken hold that their marriage had fallen apart. She had been driven by a need to protect the children and the only way she could think to do that was to keep them as far away from him as possible.

She'd been so wrapped up in the emotional baggage of the divorce, the anger and hurt, that she'd failed to see how much he'd tried to change, how he had succeeded. Nicole had tried to tell her, and there had been those few sessions with the counsellor, but this was the first time that Gina had let herself see it. She wondered how much of it was down to this new woman in his life. Sharon.

When he'd brought her to Nicole's wedding and introduced her as 'his friend', her first thought was that he had hired her from some high-class escort agency, and she was a little ashamed to say she'd treated her as such. But when Nicole had mentioned her in passing a few times and he had brought her to watch the boys in The Nutcracker, it seemed she had been wrong.

Now she was here. Sharon. She had dragged herself out of bed in the middle of the night, because her boyfriend's daughter was in hospital. She'd bought everyone coffee and had kept Andy calm, when Gina knew he'd wanted to explode. She'd tried to be positive when the doctor had told them of Nicole's injuries, offering her own experiences to try and make them all feel better. And now she was helping to comfort Devon as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Do you want me to take him?" Gina heard herself asking; it was the first time she'd spoken directly to Sharon since she'd arrived. As she seemed to be something of a permanent figure in Andy's life and therefore Nicole's life too, Gina figured she should at least try to be polite.

Sharon head snapped up, wrinkles of surprise evident on her forehead. She shook her head lightly. She'd felt Devon's body relax against her as he was pulled back into the realms of sleep. "I think he's drifting off..."

Andy leant round and gently brushed Devon's hair away from his face. "Looks like it. You've got the magic touch."

Sharon shook her head as Andy leant back in his seat and draped his arm around her. "I wish I'd had the magic touch when Emily and Ricky were little. I might have had fewer sleepless nights."

"They didn't sleep?"

"Oh Emily slept brilliantly… until Ricky was born, and then she became practically nocturnal. But of course, they couldn't be awake at the same time. No, I'd just put one of them down and then the other would wake up. I think I spent the first six months of Ricky's life walking around like a zombie."

"A beautiful zombie, I'm sure," grinned Andy wolfishly. Sharon smiled back, glad to see a glimpse of normality from him. "Nicole went through a similar thing," he added, stroking Devon's hair. "She slept well when she was first born, lulling us into a false sense of security. When she was about 5 months old, she decided sleep was overrated. We tried everything; she slept in our room, she slept in her own room, we went in every time she made the smallest sound, we left her for a while to calm herself, we even took her out for drives in the car. Nothing worked. We were about to suffer breakdowns when we finally found a place she would sleep."

"His bare chest," Gina supplied wryly. She hadn't been listening to their conversation intentionally, but it was a small room and Andy's voice carried. A hint of a smile played across her face. "I'd forgotten that. She'd scream the place down until she could feel Andy's skin against hers. Then silence. Almost instantly."

Andy glanced uncertainly between the two women. He wasn't used to Gina being nice, it unnerved him a little. And he felt like he should offer some clarification for Sharon - it wasn't as if he made a habit of being half naked around his daughter. "It was a complete accident that we discovered it. I'd been working late and when I got in Nicole was having a meltdown. I was covered in a mud from tackling a suspect so jumped straight in the shower and when I stepped out, I took her from Gina and well..." He shrugged. He hadn't really done anything – merely provided the skin to skin contact that his daughter had wanted.

"She quietened so quickly I thought I'd gone deaf," Gina remembered.

"After that, the two of us spent plenty of nights on my recliner in the den watching late night re-runs of old Dodger games. Well, I watched. Nicole slept," Andy qualified.

"I remember one night, I came down to get a drink and I heard you whispering in her ear. There was a game on low in the background so I couldn't quite make out what you were saying. I stepped just inside the doorway to try and make it out, and you were explaining the finer points of in-field base coverage... to a sleeping 6 month old."

Andy turned to Sharon, who was failing to suppress a smirk – Andy did love his baseball. "In my defence, she was soothed by the sound of my voice too. I could have read the back of a cereal packet and it would have had the same effect."

"Probably would have been more interesting too," Gina remarked.

"Remember when I took her to her first game?" Andy asked, his eyes alight with the memory of his baby girl. "What was she then four, five?"

"About that." Gina turned to Sharon. "The poor girl came home and begged me not to make her go again. She'd been bored out of her mind!"

Sharon smiled as she listened to Andy and his ex-wife reminisce, happy that they'd found some common ground, something tangible that they could both hold on to through the fear. Whatever their thoughts and feelings towards each other now, they young woman lying down the hall had been born from a love they had shared. Sharon knew from her own experience with Jack, that sharing children meant that you were unavoidably intertwined for the rest of your lives.

Hopefully, when this nightmare was over, Andy and Gina would still remember the good times that they'd had together and be able to forge a more amicable relationship going forward.

With Andy and Gina talking quietly, sharing memories of their daughter, Sharon glanced down at Devon. He was sound asleep again, cheek resting on her shoulder, his body soft and limp against her chest, the sense of calm that had fallen over the room allowing him to rest peacefully.

A few minutes later, the door opened and the calm was interrupted. Cynthia returned, finishing a conversation on her cell. "Yeah, I'll get all the paperwork filled in and sent over as soon as possible. Thank you." She ended the call and reached into her bag for some papers. She addressed Gina. "Alright, here's the thing. For the boys to stay with you, your son or your ex-husband, we'd need to get one of you approved as a foster carer."

"Then let's do it," Gina agreed readily.

Cynthia straightened up. "…but that doesn't happen overnight. Fostering requires certain checks and a home visit. It can take a few days." Gina's face fell. "However, once you are approved, the approval is valid for up to five years barring any significant change in circumstance. Captain Raydor here," Cynthia gave Sharon a pointed look, "is technically still licensed as an emergency foster carer. Do you realise, it's been just over four years since you took in Rusty?"

Sharon's eyes widened. "Sometimes it feels as if it was only yesterday…"

"We _could_ place Devon and Kodey with you temporarily. You're approved as a carer, you know the children and," she indicated the sleeping child on Sharon's lap, "they seem pretty comfortable with you."

"I don't know…" Sharon was hesitant, not wanting to do anything that might upset the tenuous balance between Andy and Gina. She couldn't see Shane being too happy about the idea either. She turned to Andy; this was not a decision she could make alone. "What do you think?"

"I think it's a great idea. The boys adore you."

"They hardly know me," she protested. That wasn't technically true - they'd been out as a family a few times and whenever Sharon and Andy had babysat, it had always been Sharon they'd wanted to read their bedtime story and tuck them in. But there was a difference between that and taking them on full time, as Cynthia was suggesting. Even if it only was temporary.

"Rusty didn't know you at all when you took him in, and look how that turned out," countered Andy.

"Yes, but-"

"Andy's right." It was not what either Sharon or Andy expected to hear from Gina and it showed on their faces. "I know it's not something I say very often, but this time he is. The boys love you, both of you, and Rusty too. They often talk about you, despite Nicole telling them not to." Sharon and Andy shared a sheepish look, hoping that Nicole wasn't lying to her mother for their sakes. "Andy, I made it clear to Nicole that if she was going to have a relationship with you, I didn't want to hear about it," Gina admitted. "And to her credit she stayed silent on the matter wherever possible. But the boys are young – they don't understand, and they forget sometimes. It's not always easy to hear, but, contrary to what some people might think-" she shot a sideways glance at Andy, "-I'm not selfish enough to let my feelings get in the way of what's best for the boys. They need to be with someone who they know and trust…" she swallowed, trying to keep her emotions in check. "They need to be with family."

Andy nudged Sharon's shoulder lightly. "What d'ya say? Can my grandkids stay with you and the kid?"

Sharon glanced at Gina once more. "If you're both sure the condo is the best place for them..."

Gina nodded firmly. "I am."

"Then I would be honoured to look after them for as long as is necessary." Sharon adored both boys – they were well behaved, polite and cute as a button – and she knew that having them with someone they trusted would help not only them, but Andy and Gina too. She'd need to make some concessions at work, but that was something that she could talk with Taylor about when she met with him later. If he wasn't willing to be flexible, she had some leave she could take. She had been saving it so she and Andy could possibly get away for his birthday but this was more important.

"If you come with me Sharon, we can fill out the appropriate paperwork and get this all settled." Cynthia held the door for her, while she passed Devon carefully off to Andy. He fussed a little at the movement, but soon settled against Andy's chest.

Andy watched her leave before turning to Gina. "She'll take good care of them," he assured her.

Gina acknowledged his comment with a slight nod. She sat pensively for a few moments before speaking again. "We had some good times." Reminiscing about Nicole as a baby had reminded Gina that Andy did in fact have some positive qualities.

"We had some great times. But we also had a lot of God-awful times too – most of which were down to me and my drinking.".

Gina continued as if she hadn't heard him. "I know I've not been the most pleasant person since the divorce…"

Andy shrugged. He'd long since accepted his ex-wife's animosity. "I was a lousy husband, a crappy father, but I've changed Gee."

"Nicole calls it 'the Sharon effect'."

"Yeah I know. One of these days it's going to go to her head." He paused. "Hell of a thing."

"You love her."

He shifted in his seat, unsure of the appropriate etiquette when discussing your feelings for a new partner with an ex.

"Relax Andy. It's not like I'm pining for you. We've both moved on and we're different people now. I hope that we can all – Martin and Sharon included – be civil to each other from here on out? I'm not saying we'll be friends but…" she shrugged, unsure of how else to explain it, "y'know."

"Yeah. We'll try and do better," Andy agreed. He was under no illusion that it would be easy to do but he'd try. "For Nicole's sake, and the boys."

"She will get better won't she Andy? Our baby girl will be okay?"

Andy looked at his ex-wife. Her shoulders had drooped; the mix of fear and fatigue made her appear small and vulnerable. He reached over and squeezed her hand. "She's a fighter Gee. Stubborn as a mule. She'll-"

He was cut off by the return of the doctor. "Nicole's been moved into ICU. You can see her now, but only two at a time."

"You go," Andy said. "Take Shane or Martin. I'll wait here with the boys but, if Sharon and I could have a couple of minutes in there before she takes the boys home?"

"That's fine. Just let us know when you're ready and we'll step out."

Gina hurried off, eager to be by her daughter's side, and Andy was alone (save for his two sleeping charges) for the first time since Provenza had walked into his AA meeting. He settled Devon down on the chairs again and dropped his head into his hands. With no one around to distract him, he was powerless to stop the tumult of emotions rising in him; sadness, anger, frustration, guilt but above all else, fear. Fear that he would lose his little girl – that just as he had gotten his relationship with Nicole back on track, it was going to be snatched away from him. He ran his hand over his face, and into his hair.

There was something else inside him fighting for control too, although Andy was doing his best to stop it from taking hold. The desperate need for a drink. Andy couldn't remember a time since getting sober where the need to drown his sorrows in a bottle of bourbon was so intense. He needed to hit a meeting. But he couldn't leave yet, not until he'd seen his daughter.

As if she'd sensed his desperation, Sharon reappeared in the doorway. Her gaze swept over him, noting his fatigue, the worry on his face and most notably, the way he was fiddling with his sobriety ring.

"I know it's probably pointless to tell you to go to a meeting," she whispered, entering quietly and sitting down next to him. She knew he wouldn't leave until he had seen Nicole. "But have you thought about calling your sponsor?"

He had thought about it a couple of hours ago, when the need for a drink had really begun to kick in, but one look at his watch had made him change his mind. Derek had always said he could call at 'any time, day or night' but Andy couldn't bring himself to haul an almost 70-year-old man out of his bed in the middle of the night. Not when he was with people like Sharon and Provenza, who would stop him from making a giant mistake.

He reached into his pocket for his cell. It was almost 7 o'clock now, he could probably justify a call at this hour. "Yeah, I'll ring him."

He scrolled through the contacts and found Derek's name, but Sharon's hand on his arm stilled his actions.

"Do you want me to wait outside?"

Andy shook his head. "Stay. Please?"

"Okay."

He pressed the 'call' button and lifted the phone to his ear, his other arm snaking over Sharon's shoulders and anchoring her to him. Or him to her. Either way, he was mighty grateful that he had her support.

* * *

 **A/N:** I know some people were hoping for words to be had between Sharon and Gina - I did try that but it felt too forced. Hope you're not disappointed by how it turned out. There may still be some fireworks further down the line. After all, Shane is a bit of a hot head like his father...


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Can I sit in a police car?"

Sharon glanced down at Kodey and his brother as they waited for the elevator at PAB. He was exuberant as ever; having his Dad and Nicole in hospital didn't seem to have fazed him. Devon, on the other hand, was quieter than usual. Sharon had caught him looking quite pensive on the drive over from the hospital. It was hardly surprising given what was going on around him. He was older than his brother, more perceptive. He understood that things were more serious than the grownups were letting on. It didn't stop Sharon's worrying though.

"Probably not today," Sharon explained, "but we'll speak to your Grandpa about it." She tapped her foot impatiently, as she watched the digital display count down, before glancing at her watch.

Gina and Martin had taken the boys for breakfast whilst she and Andy had been into see Nicole. Andy had crumbled at the sight of his daughter lying there hooked up to monitors and IV lines; her skin pale, almost translucent. She'd been a far cry from the bubbly young woman they were used to. Sharon had held him as her sat by the bed, his daughter's hand clasped in his. Sharon had held him as he'd cried, offering up silent prayers even through her own tears.

When Gina returned with the boys just after nine, Andy had helped Sharon explain to them that they were going to stay with her for a while. Andy had walked them to the entrance, where he met his sponsor. After brief introductions, Andy and his sponsor had walked to the coffee shop around the corner while Sharon and the boys had left and driven back to the condo so she could change for work. She'd called Provenza who had told her not to rush, that he'd field any questions from Taylor until she could get in. She appreciated that. They may have gotten off to a rough start and he may grumble occasionally about her relationship with Andy, but he stepped up to the plate when it mattered.

When the elevator finally arrived, Sharon ushered the boys inside. Devon walked up to the elevator panel and glanced back at Sharon.

"Floor 9" she prompted. Devon reached up but couldn't quite reach. Sharon lifted him slightly and he pressed the button.

"Is this where you and Grandpa Andy work?" Kodey asked, as the elevator began its ascent.

"It is. You'll need to wait in my office while I take care of a few things," she told them.

"Does Grandpa Andy have an office?"

"No, but he does have his own desk?"

"Why do you have an office but Grandpa Andy only has a desk?"

Sharon let out a small sigh; she'd forgotten how inquisitive children could be at his age.

"Because she's the boss," answered Devon helpfully.

"That's right."

"So you get to tell Grandpa Andy what to do?" clarified Kodey.

A smile crept onto her face. "Sometimes."

"Can you please tell him to let us eat chocolate ice cream more often?"

Sharon laughed. "Sorry honey, but I'm only his boss at work."

Kodey's face fell. "Oh."

As the elevator door opened, Sharon took Kodey's hand. "Stay close." Devon fell into step beside them as they walked along the corridor. Several pairs of eyes followed them, not quite believing the sight of Captain Raydor, walking through the halls of PAB with two young children. Uncomfortable with the attention, Devon reached for Sharon's hand and held on tightly. She swept her thumb across the back of his hand in reassurance.

Rounding the corner into the murder room, Sharon straightened and addressed her team. "Good morning everyone."

"Captain," nodded Provenza. "How's Nicole?"

Conscious of the two boys, currently gazing around the Murder Room with fascination, she kept her answer simple. "She's out of surgery and holding her own."

Tao held up a manila folder. "I got a copy of the crash scene report from SID, if you want me to go through it?"

"Let me just settle these two in my office and I will be right with you." She walked Devon and Kodey across the murder room, aware of the curious looks the three of them were getting from the rest of her division.

If it had been at all possible then she wouldn't have brought the boys to PAB, but the conversation she needed to have with Taylor was not one she could have over the phone. As well as informing him of the nature of her and Andy's relationship, she needed to explain their reasons for not disclosing it earlier and file the appropriate paperwork and discuss how best to deal with the fact that she was now caring for two young boys. It had been one thing for Rusty to be left unattended at PAB, but Devon and Kodey were a lot younger and needed more supervision. Sharon was also going to request a personal day today. They had kept the boys off school for the day given their traumatic night, but they would be returning tomorrow and Sharon was hoping to work reduced hours until either Dean's parents arrived and more permanent arrangements could be made.

Sharon opened the door to her office and led the children inside, Devon still holding tightly to her hand. It was only when she shut the door behind her that he felt confident enough to let go. They took off their rucksacks and began to unzip their coats while Sharon hung her jacket on the back of the chair, and dropped her bag on her desk. As she rummaged through her bag to find her phone, she spoke. "Now boys while you are here there are a few rules I need you obey."

Upon receiving no response, she looked up to find the boys curled into the green chairs, already engrossed in their iPads, their coats discarded on the floor. Knowing that she would get no response while they were focussed on whatever game they were playing, she stepped forward and took the iPads from them.

"Awwww!" they moaned in unison.

"I need you to listen to me for a moment." She waited until they looked directly at her to be sure she had their full attention. "I have a couple of people I need to speak to, but I will try to be quick. I will get you some snacks and drinks in a little while, okay?" The boys nodded. Kodey reached out for his tablet back, but Sharon retracted her arm so he couldn't reach it; she wasn't finished. "Now, you mustn't wander off," she warned. "This is big building and it's easy to get lost."

"We won't," the boys chorused.

"Promise me."

"Promise."

"Okay," nodded Sharon, handing the boys back their tablets. "I will be back to check on you in a little while. Be good."

She drew the blinds wide, so she could keep an eye on them, before stepping back into the murder room, closing the door behind her.

Provenza saw her approaching the board and beckoned everyone to gather round. "Tao! Sanchez! Sykes!"

Sharon threw one last glance over her shoulder at the boys in her office, before addressing her team. "Before you fill me in, let me remind you that this is not currently our case. We are going to need something quite significant for me to convince Assistant Chief Taylor to turn this case over to us."

"Well, we might have it Captain," Provenza said grimly. "Nicole's BAC and tox screen came back as negative, as we thought it would. So we can rule out a DUI."

Sharon nodded. That was no surprise. With her Dad's history with alcohol, Nicole was generally quite careful with her consumption.

Tao pinned up a map, circled the area of the crash and then began to draw an enlarged version of the roads on the board alongside it. "Nicole's silver Mercedes was travelling east on Mulholland Drive at just after 11pm last night." He traced the root with the end of his pen. "It came off the road here," he marked the point with an 'x', "close to the junction with Coldwater Canyon Drive after being hit by another car." He doodled the both cars onto his drawing of the road and marked the collision zone. "The other car drove into the front driver's side wing of the Mercedes."

Sykes approached the board and stuck on some pictures of the totalled car at the crime screen. "On impact, the Mercedes spun a full 360 degrees, towards the edge of the embankment, where it rolled, at speed down the embankment."

"SID found only one set of skid marks at the scene Ma'am," Julio added, as Sykes added photos of them to the board. "They match the direction and tread of Nicole's Mercedes."

Sharon's brow furrowed. "But we know there was another car involved."

"Yes. In addition to the impact damage, they found black paint on the wing panel. Initial analysis suggests the other car was a Black BMW."

"A Black BMW in the Hollywood Hills, well that narrows it down!" interjected Provenza.

"A more in-depth spectrometer analysis could give us a specific model or a year," suggested Tao.

Sharon stared at the board, her hand unconsciously tracing the pictures of the car. "The other car didn't even try to stop."

"No Ma'am, and that's not all. There are inconsistencies between the length of the skid marks and the speed limit. If Nicole was driving at or under the speed limit and her brakes were working well, then the skid marks would have been shorter."

"Nicole has no history of speeding tickets," continued Tao, "so I asked my friend in SID to check the brakes on the car. The fluid had been drained. Not completely but enough to seriously affect the braking power."

At Tao's words, Sharon felt a jolt of adrenaline surge through her and her heartbeat was loud in her ears.

"Someone definitely wanted this to happen, Captain," confirmed Provenza.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Apologies for the delay with this one - had some personal stuff going on but that's (hopefully) sorted out now.

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

 _"Someone definitely wanted this to happen, Captain," confirmed Provenza_

Sharon was reeling from Provenza's words. The detectives from Traffic had suggested that this could have been a hit, but she hadn't really believed it. Not until the evidence was spread out in front of her. There was no denying it, someone had tried to kill Andy's daughter and her husband.

She felt tears threatening to pool in her eyes so, swallowing, she turned away from the murder board, away from the pictures of the crash site. Instinctively, she glanced to her office, needing to confirm the boys' safety. They were both still as she left them, engrossed in their iPads. She paced the length of the murder room, before settling on the edge of Andy's desk.

"Okay, we need full background on both Nicole and Dean; we need to know why they've been targeted this way. Amy, can you pull their financials, Julio and Lieutenant Provenza, I want you to go to their office and speak to as many people as you can, find out if there's anything we should know." The three nodded and began to get to work. "Buzz, can you use the number plate recognition system to track their vehicle to whatever restaurant they were going to and then from there to the crash site."

"It might take a while," he advised. "Depending on where they ate, that could mean hundreds of cameras."

"I understand. I'll ask Andy if any of the family knew where they were going. If not, it should show on their credit card statement. Mike, I want the Mercedes fingerprinted inside and out, including whatever parts of the car need to be touched to drain the brake fluid," Sharon ordered.

"What about you Captain?" Provenza asked gently. Neither of them had had much sleep, and she had the boys to take care of now.

Sharon looked over at the boys playing happily in her office. It looked like they were going to be here a little longer than she'd originally thought. "I'm going to start pulling Andy's past cases, see if there's anyone who could be looking for revenge."

"Captain Raydor!" Assistant Chief Taylor strode into the murder room. His eyes narrowed as he took in the information on the board. "May I see you in your office please?"

"I'm afraid my office is not available at this time, Chief."

"And why is that?" He turned to look for himself. "Who are those children?"

"They're Nicole's step-sons."

"Flynn's daughter? And they are here because?"

Sharon folded her arms. "They are in my care. I did leave a message with your secretary to arrange a time to come up and see you Chief."

"My schedule is jammed, so I thought I'd come to you while I had a minute. And I'm glad I did. This is not your case - road traffic accidents are the responsibility of Traffic."

Provenza stood. "There are mitigating factors here which suggest this is more than your average fender bender."

"Which are?"

"The evidence points to a deliberate collision," Sharon said.

"We're talking about attempted murder here Chief," Provenza spelt out. "Of the daughter of a long-serving LAPD detective. One who used to be your friend."

"That does not alter the facts Lieutenant."

"Chief," began Sharon, "there are over a thousand traffic accidents in LA every week. Traffic must be busy enough without tackling a complex, time-consuming investigation."

"You'd think they'd be glad of our help, what with all the overtime they've been putting in lately," interjected Provenza.

"And if the weather deteriorates as forecast the number of accidents is going to double," pointed out Sanchez.

"At least," nodded Amy.

"Rain does make every LA driver crazy," remarked Tao.

Sharon could see the chief was wavering, so she played the politics card. "Isn't one of Chief Pope's priorities this year to increase inter-divisional cooperation?"

Then Provenza dealt the final blow, albeit with a grimace on his face. "We won't even put in for overtime."

Chief Taylor raised an eyebrow – was Major Crime's resident skinflint, offering to work for free? "Really?"

"That's right Chief." Sharon jumped in before Provenza could change his mind. "Lieutenant Flynn is a valued member of this team and we want to personally ensure that the person responsible for putting his daughter in hospital is found and brought to justice."

Taylor looked around the room at the six colleagues, so eager to take this case. "You will keep Detective Phillips informed of your progress as a courtesy and if you catch another case, you hand this back over to traffic." He pulled out his phone to break the news to Phillips.

Sharon approached the murder board and surveyed the photos. She took the more harrowing ones down. "Given our young guests," she signalled to her office, "I'd like to keep these pictures off the murder board." She handed them to Tao. "For now."

"Of course captain."

"Just how long are they going to be here?" grumbled Provenza.

"I'm not entirely sure," admitted Sharon. "There are custody issues. Dean's parents and sister are out of the country, and because Nicole doesn't have any legal rights, the hospital called DCSF."

"So you've brought them here so avoid the social worker?" speculated Sykes.

"Yes, because we all know what a complete disregard the Captain has for the law," deadpanned Provenza. "Ye God's Sykes, and you call yourself a detective!"

"The children need emergency care and my license to foster is still valid. So they are staying with me, until alternative arrangements can be arranged."

Provenza slapped the file he was holding down on his desk. He didn't mind necessarily mind the children, or that the captain was looking after them, but they did not belong in Major Crimes. While they were there, everybody's attention was split and they couldn't work the way they wanted to. "This is a police station, not a day care centre."

"They will be back in school tomorrow," Sharon assured. "I was planning to take a personal day but after seeing the evidence from the crash site, I'd rather be working the case."

"It's only one day," added Amy, somewhat naively. "How much trouble can they be?"

Buzz stood up. "Can I just say, I think I did my share of babysitting with Rusty."

"Yeah well, it wasn't exactly a walk in the park for me either."

Sharon spun around at the sound of her youngest son's voice before looking at her watch. "You should still be in class."

"My head just wasn't there, Sharon. Not today. When I told my professor what had happened, he gave me some reading and told me to go home."

"Rusty…" She sighed. He and Nicole had spent quite a bit of time together since Sharon and Andy began their relationship. Generally, Nicole would come to her condo to have dinner with her father, as it was nearer than Andy's house, so as she and Andy had cooked, Rusty had entertained Nicole. Plus, they'd had a couple of family get-togethers. She'd got him some work experience in her office and he had eagerly volunteered to help when Dean had mentioned redecorating their kitchen. Given his closeness to them, it was understandable that he'd be affected by the events of the previous night. Nevertheless, Sharon didn't want him neglecting his studies and would have to find a way to convince him to return to class as soon as possible.

"I called Flynn, and he said you'd brought the boys here. Remembering how boring it is to be stuck in this place when you're in emergency care, I figured I could take them off your hands for a couple of hours."

"Did Andy say how Nicole was doing?"

"Yeah, there's been no change. That's good right? I mean, she's no worse."

"The fact that she hasn't deteriorated is a good sign, yes, but the longer she remains sedated, well…" Sharon trailed off, not wanting to verbalise the possibilities. "I'll just get the boys," she told him, her voice cracking with emotion. She moved towards her office, steadfastly looking anywhere but at her team, for fear they'd see the dampness in her eyes.

She took a deep breath to calm herself, before opening the door. "Boys, come here. There's someone here to see you." Their faces lit up as they peered around the door

"RUSTY!" yelled Kodey excitedly, running at him. Devon, still conscious of all the strangers, was a little slower.

Rusty bent down to catch the younger boy, and lifted him in the air. "Uh! I think you've grown again." He bounced him up and down again. "Yep, definitely heavier." He turned to Devon. "Hey Devon. You up for getting out of here for a bit?"

Devon nodded.

"Can we go to the park?"

Putting Kodey down, Rusty looked at Sharon. "That okay Mom?"

"We'll be good," Devon assured Sharon.

"Come on Mom. It's not like I've never looked after them before." He'd stepped in on a couple of occasions when Andy and Sharon were babysitting but got stuck at work.

The team watched with interest at how familiar Andy's grandchildren were with Rusty. Sanchez looked at Buzz, a question in his eyes, but the technician shrugged; he was as clueless as everyone else. On hold with someone at the print shed, Tao smiled knowingly. Confusion reigned over Amy's face and she opened her mouth to ask what Provenza was sure was going to be an incriminating question. So he provided a distraction. Standing up he grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair. "Hurry up Sanchez or the office will be closed before we get there."

What Provenza hadn't accounted for was the excitement of a young boy who wanted to go to the park. Kodey was bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet, begging to be able to go with Rusty. "Please can we go to the park! Pleeeeease Grandma Sharon!"

His pleading voice echoed around the murder room and silence fell at the implication of the young boy's words.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** I am so, so sorry for the delay with this chapter. Real life kinda exploded but things are calming down a little now so I thouhgt I'd get this posted before Christmas comes along and things get hectic again.

If there's anyone still reading this then I would love to hear what you think.

* * *

"…The ducklings liked the new island so much that they decided to live there. All day long, they follow the swan boats and eat peanuts. And when night falls, they swim to their little island, then go to sleep." Sharon closed the book and placed it on the bedside cabinet, before turning her attention back to Andy's grandsons.

She'd barely finished four pages of 'Make Way for Ducklings' before Kodey had fallen asleep, tired from his outing to the park with Rusty. Devon had been drowsy, but at the same time, he'd been determined to stay awake until the end, wanting to know what happened to Mr and Mrs Mallard and their ducklings, but now his eyelids were drooping.

Sharon helped him scoot down in the bed. "Sweet dreams," she whispered, tucking the blankets around both boys and kissing them lightly on the foreheads.

She crept from the room, leaving the door open a crack in case either of the children needed something, and headed to the living room.

Rusty looked up from his laptop as she entered. "They okay?"

She nodded. "I think you tired them out this afternoon." She flopped down next to him on the sofa Thank you for giving up your room for them."

"Honestly Mom, it's not a problem. I've slept on the couch before; it's not too bad."

She picked her phone up from where it was sat on the coffee table and glanced at the screen. Nothing. Andy had said he'd text if he needed anything or if there was any change but she couldn't help but worry.

Rusty watched out of the corner of his eye as she put her phone down and switched on the television. Every so often she would glance back down at her phone and sigh.

"Mom, why don't you drive over to the hospital and see what's happening?" Rusty knew she wouldn't settle unless she had an update. But she couldn't ring him as his phone had to be switched off in ICU.

"I can't. I've got the boys."

"I can keep an ear out for them. I've done it before."

Sharon bit her lip; torn. There was nothing she wanted more than to see Andy and Nicole, but she had a obligation to the boys. "I don't know."

"They're asleep Mom, and after this afternoon they're likely to stay that way. Besides, I'm not suggesting you stay there all night. Just a couple of hours."

"Yes, but you shouldn't have to take responsibility for them."

"I've not had much experience of 'family' but I know that when something like this happens, everyone pulls together and helps out."

"But Nicole isn't fa-" She trailed off as she noticed Rusty's raised eyebrow.

"Really? Come on Mom. You've been dating her father for almost two years, despite what you and he might like to believe, we spent last Christmas together at her house, and you rush out of here in the middle of the night when she's injured." He paused to let his words sink in. "Her kids even call you Grandma." He smirked as he reminded her of the incident in the murder room that morning.

"You may have a point," Sharon conceded. "But I'm still not entirely comfortable with dumping all this on you."

"We're family. We can split emergencies. Go. We both know you're not going to sleep until you've at least spoken to him."

She exhaled slowly. "Okay." She stood and gathered her things. "I won't be more than a few hours. Ring me if you need me."

"I will."

"Say it again."

Rusty rolled his eyes. "I will." He pointed at the door. "Go."

* * *

She found Andy sitting in the waiting area outside ICU. He was hunched forward, elbows on his knees, staring at the floor. She touched his shoulder gently. "Hi."

"Hey." He'd startled a little at her touch but upon seeing that it was her, smiled. "I wasn't expecting you."

She gave a little shrug. "The boys are in bed and Rusty offered to keep an eye on them, so I thought I'd come down and see how things were." She held up the bag she was carrying. "I brought food too."

She'd called at Little Dom's, a deli just a few blocks from her condo and picked up his favourite dish; an arugula & parmesan salad as well as a selection of sandwiches and soup for Gina, Martin and Shane.

"Thanks. I hadn't really thought about eating," he admitted.

She placed the bag of food on the table and took the seat next to him. "Has there been any change?"

He shook his head. "Not really. Slight improvement in her vitals but nothing major. She's still sedated."

She patted his knee gently. "She's stable though. That's something."

"Have you heard anything from Detective Phillips or Traffic?"

Sharon breathed deeply, steeling herself for the coming conversation. "Major Crimes are now working the case."

He looked up, his eyes wide. "Why?"

Sharon chewed on her bottom lip. "It looks like Traffic's initial assessment was right; this was a deliberate hit."

"That makes no sense Sharon. Who would want to hurt Nicole or Dean?"

"That's what we're going to find out, Andy."

"And Taylor's okay with this?"

"As long as we don't catch another case then yes. Lieutenant Provenza volunteered everyone for unpaid overtime."

"Provenza? Working for free?"

Sharon nodded. "Naturally, Taylor jumped at the opportunity before he could change his mind." She leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Speaking of Taylor… He knows about us."

Andy turned his head and pressed a kiss to hers. "I figured you tell him, after the interrogation from Officer Venn."

"That was my plan yes, but I was beaten to it."

"Venn tattled?" Andy rolled his eyes. "Why am I not surprised."

"No actually, it was Kodey."

* * *

 _"Please can we go to the park!" Sharon had smiled as the young boy had bounced up and down on his toes, and was just about to put him out of his misery when he'd continued his pleading. "Pleeeease Grandma Sharon!"_

 _A deafening silence fell over the Murder Room and Sharon felt everyone turn to stare at her as the implication of Kodey's words dawned on them. She was rather surprised herself; neither of the boys had ever referred to her as 'Grandma' before. If they'd have been anywhere else, the gesture would have made her smile, but as it was, she had to maintain an air of professionalism._

 _Shaking herself out of her shocked stupor, Sharon raised her head and her eyes met Taylor's. He'd finished his phone call with Detective Philips just in time to hear the young boy's loud declaration._

 _Ignoring her immediate supervisor's shocked expression, her gaze swept the murder room. Except for Provenza, who had known about her and Andy for a while, the faces of her team were a mixture of shock, surprise and confusion. She wanted to say something, to address the revelation with them, but she knew she needed to deal with Taylor first._

 _Clearing her throat, she turned back to her boss. "Chief, shall we?" She indicated towards her office and Taylor led the way._

 _The team's eyes tracked Sharon as she followed the assistant chief into her office._

 _"What's going on?" Devon asked Rusty, "Are we going to the park?"_

 _Rusty didn't respond, his eyes were trained on his mother's as she closed the blinds to her office. This was not how she would have wanted this to come out. She'd been very clear about the fact that he was to keep any comments about her relationship with Andy out of the Murder Room and away from the team until they had decided to go public, the first step of which was to inform her commanding officer. She hadn't wanted him to find out from anyone but her, when she was ready._

 _"Rusty!" Provenza clapped his shoulder to gain his attention. "Why don't you take the boys to the breakroom and get them a drink, hmm?"_

 _"Wha-?" Provenza threw him a pointed look. "Oh right, yeah. Come on you two." Rusty grabbed their hands and practically dragged them out of the room._

 _"The rest of you," Provenza continued, "back to work, we have a case to solve."_

 _The noise level in the room rose slowly as everyone returned to the task at hand._

 _After closing the blinds, Sharon moved behind her desk. She took a deep breath and turned to face Taylor. "Chief, I-"_

 _He held up his hand. "How long?"_

 _"Almost six months." That was the time they'd officially been together, but she could see now that they had been dating for a while before the dinner at Serve when they had admitted it to themselves. That was something she was not willing to divulge to her boss however._

 _Taylor pursed his lips. "I see. And is there a reason you chose to disregard the rule about disclosing your relationship?"_

 _She reached into her desk draw and removed a manilla folder. "We wanted to be certain that a relationship between us would work, and that it wouldn't affect the good order and discipline of my division."_

 _"Well clearly it has, if you're letting Lieutenant Flynn convince you to break the rules."_

* * *

Andy sat up, wide-eyes, jostling Sharon from her position on his shoulder. "He actually said that?!"

She nodded. "He did."

"As if I could convince you to do anything you didn't want to do?!"

"No, but you get an A for effort," Sharon commented wryly. He had pressed hard. So much so that they'd almost come to blows about it. In a surprising switch, Andy had wanted to do things by the book, but Sharon had wanted to wait. Andy had assumed her reticence to be because she was ashamed or embarrassed. The truth was Sharon felt it would help them balance the personal and professional, force them to keep their relationship out of the office. Which it had. She hadn't intended it to continue for as long as it had, but the longer they'd left it, the harder it had become to reveal.

"Gee thanks. So we're at Taylor's mercy then?" Even though there were no policies saying either of them had to transfer, they had broken the rules and Taylor could make life difficult for them.

Sharon shrugged nonchalantly. "No. Something tells me he won't be giving us any trouble."

The knowing tone in her voice made Andy suspicious. "What did you do?"

* * *

 _Sharon's eyes had narrowed at Taylor's comment and she'd rounded her desk to stand in front of him. "Actually chief, it was my idea not to disclose the change in our relationship."_

 _Opening the folder, she'd held out a piece of paper. "Here's Andy's form. Signed and dated shortly after our relationship changed."_

 _A cursory glance at the bottom of the page confirmed to Taylor that Sharon had been telling the truth. Andy's signature scrawl was present, and it was dated just over 5 months ago. "And yours?" Taylor asked, raising an eyebrow._

 _Sharon removed the remaining piece of paper from the folder and turned back to her desk. Reaching for a pen, she signed her name with a flourish and looked up at Taylor. "I apologise in advance if my actions result in any… repercussions for you, Chief."_

" _What possible repercussions could it have on me?" he asked._

 _"Well, it's possible that people might wonder how it was that two of your senior detectives, managed to conceal something so significant from you." Taylor opened his mouth to argue, but Sharon continued on. "Or, they may wonder why a senior female officer, and former LAPD women's co-ordinator, decided not to disclose a change in her relationship status to her male supervisor. And then there's the timing… so close to the race for the new Chief…"_

 _Sharon handed the form to him and he scanned its contents. She'd added the same date as Lieutenant Flynn. His brow furrowed. He was about to ask what she thought she was playing at when she spoke again._

 _"If your application to be Chief is successful, you might want to look into an audit of human resources. I've heard of incidences of paperwork being mislaid for months…"_

 _Taylor glanced back down at the forms in his hand and smiled knowingly. "Thank you Captain. I'll look into it."_

* * *

Andy grinned. "You know, for someone who worked internal affairs for most of her career, you're really sneaky."

"I prefer to think of it as using my years of experience to my advantage."

He chuckled, kissing the side of her head once more.

"You should eat," she prompted, leaning forward and lifting the container out of the bag. She handed it to him, along with utensils.

"Thank you," he said meaningfully.

Sharon picked up on his tone. "It's only a salad."

"It's not just the food Sharon. These past 24 hours have been hell. I don't know how I'd have gotten through it without you."

Sharon leant over and kissed Andy on the cheek, a silent promise that she would always be there for him, whatever happened.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** I cannot apologise enough for the delay in getting this chapter out. Real life has just exploded. My muse disappeared for a while, work has been busier than ever and my Mum was in hospital for 3 weeks over the Christmas/New Year holidays so there's not been a lot of free time. I am committed to finishing this story though. It's all mapped out though - I know what's going to happen, it's just finding time to get it down on paper.

This is more of a filler chapter really, but I hope it re-ignites your interest in the story.

* * *

There was no change in either Nicole's or Dean's conditions over the next few days. Sharon and Provenza had managed to convince Andy to go home for a shower and a nap on the Sunday night. He managed a couple of hours sleep but was back at Nicole's bedside before the sun was up. Dean's parents had flown in late Saturday night and were currently maintaining a similar vigil by his bed, meaning the children were still with Sharon. Between Rusty, Martin, Shane and herself, they had kept the boys occupied over the weekend. While Sharon went to the office on Saturday, Rusty had taken Devon and Kodey to the cinema and filled them with candy and soda before passing them off to Shane. Sharon had given him a disapproving look when she'd found out about that but Rusty just shrugged – Shane shouldn't have made disparaging comments about Sharon, or at least he should have waited until Provenza wasn't around to hear them. Luckily, their sugar rush had worn off by the time Shane returned them to the condo, or Rusty might have come face to face with Darth Raydor. Sharon fed them, bathed them and put them to bed before leaving them in Rusty's charge and returning to the hospital to be with Andy and Nicole.

She took the boys to Mass on Sunday morning, and allowed them to light candles for Nicole and Dean. Then they dropped by the hospital, allowing the boys to spend a few moments with their visiting grandparents before Martin took them swimming. Sharon had checked in with Andy and decided that he needed a break from the hospital. Her protests fell on deaf ears though, so she resolved to speak to Provenza and launch a double pronged attack. She'd spent the next few hours in the Murder Room, continuing her study of Andy's old case files, before picking the boys up for their new nightly ritual.

The boys returning to school on Monday provided them with some much needed structure and distraction whilst giving Sharon a little bit of a break. She dropped them off before work and Rusty, who thankfully had no late classes this semester, collected them and brought them to PAB.

While Sharon's life felt like a whirlwind, the investigation into crash was the exact opposite. They had no leads. They'd confirmed that the BMW involved was a 3 series and had checked all vehicles from the CCTV matching that description – none had shown any signs of a collision. This lead them to surmise that whoever was behind the attack had been lying in wait along Mullholland Drive. Buzz and Tao were currently sifting through footage from all surrounding areas going back up to three hours before the collision to see if that gave them anything. They'd go further back if they had too; the car hadn't magically appeared on that road – it had to have come from somewhere.

They'd interviewed Nicole and Dean's family and colleagues; it was always the same story - no one could think of a reason why someone would do this. There were no odd financials and no reason to suspect their marriage was anything other than solid.

Andy's old case files had thrown up nothing either; no-one had been released within the past year who had shown any animosity towards Andy. The team were frustrated. They had exhausted every possible line of enquiry they could think of, they'd worked round the clock and still they'd gotten no-where. They needed a breakthrough and fast. The longer it took to figure out who was responsible, the more chance the culprit had of escaping.

It was mid-Monday afternoon – almost 4 days since the crash - before that breakthrough came. Sharon was in her office, re-reading some of Andy's old files, in-case they'd missed something, when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," she called, looking up from the folder on her desk.

Sanchez poked his head around the door. "Captain, we've just had a call – a burnt out car has been found in Sherman Oakes and its VIN number confirms it's a Black, BMW 335i."

Sharon stood and followed Sanchez into the murder room. "Sherman Oaks, that's what, less than 4 miles from the crash site?"

"4.3 to be precise." Tao replied, marking the location on the map that was pinned to the murder board.

"It has _got_ to be the car," Provenza added. "It's too much of a co-incidence not to be."

Sharon nodded as she studied the map. "Julio, Mike, take Buzz and get SID over there to process the scene." Her phone began vibrating in her pocket, so she paused to retrieve it. She looked back at Tao. "Then take the car, or what's left of it, to the print shed and see if anything is salvageable." She glanced at the caller display to see Andy's name and a feeling of dread swept over her. "Amy, I want the owner of that car in an interview room," she instructed before stepping back into her office and answering her phone.

"Andy. Is everything okay?" she asked, he heart pounding in anticipation of what he would say.

He only spoke two words but his voice was lighter than she'd heard in in days. "Nicole's awake."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Thanks for all your comments. It's good to know people are still reading despite the length of time it took me to post the previous chapter. :)

* * *

The incessant beeping in the room permeated the deepest sleep that Nicole had ever had. She tried to lift her arm to switch off the alarm but it was so heavy she couldn't move. She fought against the sleep that was trying to pull her back under and opened her eyes. Rolling her head to the side, her gaze fell on her father, dozing in a chair at her bedside.

"Dad?" Her throat was parched so it came our as a rough croak.

All the air rushed out of Andy's lungs at the sound of his daughter's voice. The doctors had reduced her sedation the previous evening, but when she hadn't awakened by morning they were beginning to fear the worst. He lifted his head and looked into her beautiful brown eyes that were a mirror of his own. "Hey."

She hissed in pain as she tried to sit up, feeling a pull on her left side.

"Stay still," he advised, placing a hand on her arm. "You've had major surgery."

"What…" Her throat hurt, throbbing with the effort to speak. Andy reached for the jug of water that was on table and poured her a glass. He held the glass to her lips and helped her take small sips. The coolness of the water helped. She swallowed a couple more times. "What happened?"

"There was an accident," Andy explained. "You were run off the road. Do you remember any of that?"

She shook her head. The last thing she remembered was being in the car with Dean, but she couldn't recall why.

Andy squeezed her arm. "Doc said you might not. Don't worry."

She looked around, eyes wide with sudden panic. "Dean? The boys?"

"Dean is here; he was pretty beat up from the crash. I'm sure we can get an update on him soon." He didn't want to burden his daughter with the news that he was in a worse condition than she, not so soon after waking. "The kids are fine. They weren't in the car. They're staying with Sharon."

She nodded and closed her eyes for a moment, relieved that they were okay and being cared for.

"Your Mum is outside; I should let her know you're awake. You've given us all quite a scare Nic."

He dropped a kiss to her head before leaving to give Gina the good news.

Gina soon rushed past Andy's and into her daughter's room, Martin following behind, leaving Andy alone in the corridor. After letting the nurses know about the recent developments, he took his phone from his pocked and found Sharon's number in his recent contacts list.

It rang for a little while before she answered. "Andy. Is everything okay?"

He couldn't stop the smile creeping onto his face. "Nicole's awake."

* * *

Sharon arrived a couple of hours later to find Nicole asleep - the result of the morphine the doctors had prescribed her - and Andy at her bedside; a sight similar to the one she'd seen every night since the accident. Except this time there was hope. Nicole had woken from her sedation and once the morphine wore off she would wake again. She would gain her strength back. It would be a slow road, but she would get there.

"Are we any closer to finding the son of a bitch who did this?" Andy asked, his hand slowly stroking Nicole's arm.

"We think we've found the car. Mike is ensuring it's fully examined. But… it was stolen. The registered owner was on holiday in Cabo. He had no idea it was missing until we called him. We've checked on his alibi. He's been at the resort since last Monday. And there's no link to Nicole or Dean and nothing in his financials."

Andy exhaled slowly. "So then we've still got squat?"

"Buzz is pulling the traffic camera footage from the neighbourhood where the car was stolen, and Amy and Provenza are checking to see if any of the neighbours had CCTV that may help. We're not giving up Andy," Sharon reassured, squeezing his arm.

They looked up at the sound of the door opening. A short blonde haired nurse entered, gowned and masked up. "Excuse me. I need to change your daughter's dressings. Would you mind stepping out for a moment?"

"Of course," nodded Sharon. She took Andy's hand and led him out of the room. They sank down into the plastic chairs next to Gina, Martin and Shane. Sharon briefed them on status of the investigation while the nurse attended to Nicole, reiterating that the team were doing everything they could and would not give up until they had found the people responsible.

"Mom-?" Sharon's head snapped up at the sound of her eldest son's voice.

"Ricky!" she gasped. Shaking her head in disbelief, she stood and welcomed him into an embrace. "What are you doing here?" Sharon had called her children the day after the accident and neither of them had made any overtures about visiting. Which was completely understandable; they hardly knew Nicole and they had their own lives. Emily was in the middle of a show and Ricky had had a conference over the weekend.

"You're kidding right? When the new sister is in critical condition in hospital, you move some things around to be there," he replied cheekily. "Emily wanted to come too, but she's tied into this show." He held out his hand to his mother's boyfriend. "Andy. I'm sorry about Nicole. How's she doing?"

He stood and shook the younger man's hand. "Hey Ricky. She woke up a few hours ago. But she's still pretty weak."

Ricky nodded. "Is there anything I can do?"

"What makes you think we need you to do anything?" Shane growled, standing. He was still struggling to with Andy's presence and his attitude towards Sharon, Rusty and now, Ricky, was a reflection of that.

"Shane!" Gina admonished.

Ricky waved her off. "Don't worry about it." He resolved to have a little chat with the man who could one day be his step-brother at a later date, when Nicole was out of danger. He was not impressed by what he'd heard from Rusty about this man's attitude to his mother, so he'd decided to shuffle a few things around at work and come and see for himself. It seemed the little brother was not exaggerating.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the corridor.

"How about we go and get everyone some coffee," Sharon suggested, standing. She could tell Gina wanted to say something to Shane, but wouldn't put her in the position of having to do it in front of her. She placed her hand of Andy's shoulder. "You'll be okay?"

Andy nodded, touching her hand gently. "Yeah. Hey Ricky, she'll try to tell you that I should have decaf. Don't listen to her, okay?"

Ricky chuckled. "Sorry mate. Have you met her? If she wants you to have decaf, there's nothing I can do to help you."

"I knew there was a reason Rusty was my favourite," Andy muttered as the two of them headed out for the coffee.

"So, tell me," Sharon began as they stood in the little coffee shop around the corner from the hospital waiting for their order, "why are you really here?"

"I told you, when the new sister is in hospital, you make time for a visit." Given the lateness of the hour the coffee shop was quiet. A nurse coming off her shift, grabbing a quick caffeine fix on her way home; a group of five college students huddled around a laptop; and a sombre-looking man sat staring out of the window.

"Hmmm. I just find it interesting that when I adopted Rusty you were less than enthusiastic, yet you seem to have accepted Nicole, who you've met once, enough to fly over 350 miles for her."

"How long until you stop bringing that up? That was not my finest hour I'll admit. I've learnt lesson – when Mom decides to get you a new sibling, you just smile and say thank you. So here I am."

Sharon raised an eyebrow. "Really?!" She didn't bother correcting Ricky in his assumption that Nicole was his sister. She and Andy were both in this for the long haul. Even if they never married, they were committed to each other and, as they blended their families together, she hoped Andy's children and hers would come to rely and trust in each other as siblings should.

Ricky withered under his other's enquiring gaze. "And maybe Rusty is worried about you. You're balancing work, looking after Andy's grandkids and taking care of Andy too. Who looks after you? Rusty wants to do more but he's got school, Emily is in the middle of a show, so that leaves me."

"That interrogation was easier than it used to be. You've gotten complacent." Sharon paid for their drinks order and picked up one of the take-out trays, Ricky grabbing the other. "I do not need handling, Ricky. I have been looking after myself for a long time now."

"I know that. You've looked after us too. It's my turn Mom. Please let me do this."

Sharon paused and looked at her son; he had grown much over the past year. He had inherited her stubbornness and, even though he wasn't as strong-willed as her and Sharon knew she could win this argument, she decided to let it go. She didn't have the energy or the compulsion for the debate. "Okay then. I shall enjoy having you here. I just wish it was under happier circumstances."

Ricky fell into step beside his Mom and dropped his free arm around her shoulders as they made their way back to the hospital. "How is Nicole, really?"

During the five-minute walk from The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf back to the hospital Sharon brought Ricky up to speed on Nicole's condition.

"So, what's the prognosis?" he asked, as they exited the elevator into ICU. "Long term?"

"Well, we'll need to wait for her to see the doctor, but she's a healthy, young woman so there's no reason to think-"

Sharon couldn't finish her sentence, distracted by the door of Nicole's room bursting open. Gina rushed out into the corridor, her face ashen. "Get the doctor, something's wrong!"

Time stood still as Sharon watched everything turn to chaos; a long, flat, piercing beep penetrating the air.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Well, it's been a while. Sorry about that - I didn't intend to leave you on a cliffhanger like that for so long. Real life and ideas from the second half of season 5 have kept me busy. You may want to re-read the previous chapter, to remind yourselves of what happened.

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

Torrents of rain pelted the window of Nicole's hospital room. It was just after seven in the morning and the dim early-morning light was obscured by the heavy rainfall, while endless shrouds of black clouds raced each other across the sky. The mood inside was just as sombre as the weather; none of the occupants of Nicole's room uttered a word. The only sounds were the rhythmic hissing of the ventilator and the steady beep-beep-beeping of the heart monitor.

Sharon sat quietly at Nicole's bedside, her face turned towards the window. Her forehead was creased in worry as she absentmindedly stroked her thumb across the back of Nicole's hand. Andy was seated on the opposite side of the bed, twisting his sobriety ring around his finger

The doctors had managed to resuscitate Nicole after she had flat-lined. They had diagnosed anaphylaxis as the cause, but were still trying to figure out what had triggered the allergic reaction. In the meantime, Nicole was unconscious for a second time and her family were playing a waiting game once more. Given the amount of time Nicole had been without oxygen, there was now a chance of permanent, irreversible brain damage. Only time would tell.

Sharon had remained at the hospital overnight with Andy. They had sat with Nicole in shifts; she and Andy took one shift, Gina and Martin the other. This gave them a chance to try and get some rest when they weren't with Nicole. The chairs in the relatives' room weren't the most comfortable but, with their level of exhaustion, they managed to grab a couple of hours sleep regardless.

At first, Sharon had been torn about staying at the hospital. She wanted to be there to support Andy but also knew that she had the boys to take care of. Luckily, Ricky had provided a solution. Once they'd been sure Nicole was stable again, he had returned to the condo to give Rusty a hand with Devon and Kodey. He assured her that the two of them were more than capable of giving the boys their breakfast and getting them to school.

The sound of someone entering the room interrupted Sharon's thoughts. She and Andy looked up simultaneously.

"Mr Flynn, could I speak to you for a moment please?"

It was Nicole's doctor.

Andy turned to Sharon, his arm outstretched. "Will you come with me?

She nodded, standing and rounding the bed to take Andy's hand.

Doctor Walker led Andy and Sharon to the relative's room, where they joined Gina, Martin and a suited man Andy didn't recognise.

"This is Mr Manning, our Chief of Services," explained Doctor Walker. Andy and Sharon shook the other man's hand. "As you know, we've been running a variety of tests to find out what caused Nicole's allergic reaction and, well, we think we've found the answer."

"What was it?" asked Gina, wringing her hands. The presence of the Chief of Services was unnerving.

"Your daughter's tox screen shows she had high doses of Penicillin in her blood stream."

Gina's lips parted in a gasp. "How is that possible? She's wearing an alert band." Nicole's allergy to Penicillin was common knowledge among her treatment team. She'd had a similar reaction when she was a child and ever since it had been a prominent part of her medical history. If she was ever treated at any medical centre, they always placed a red bracelet on her wrist to flag up those treating her.

Mr Manning spoke up. "Let me assure you, we are doing everything in our power to find out how this happened. As far as we can tell, she wasn't prescribed it by any member of the medical team."

"What do you mean, 'as far as you can tell'?" growled Andy, balling his hands into tight fists. "Either she was or she wasn't."

"The administration of the drug isn't recorded in her notes and it wasn't ordered from the pharmacy in her name," the doctor offered hesitantly.

"So someone made a mistake, is that what you're saying? My daughter is lying there, because someone didn't do their job properly?!"

Sharon laid a hand on Andy's arm. The cogs in her brain had been turning while listening to the doctor and administrator explain the situation. "Andy, it might not be their fault."

Everyone in the room turned to face her. "What do you mean?" asked Gina.

"Doctor, is it possible that this could have been done deliberately?"

Doctor Walker's eyes widened. "I…"

"I can assure you," replied Mr Manning, "none of our staff would-"

"Save the corporate bullshit," snapped Andy, turning back to Sharon. "What are you thinking?"

"We're investigating the collision as a deliberate hit. If the person responsible wanted Nicole and Dean dead, they're most likely keeping track of the investigation via the news. Finding out that they are still alive might have prompted-"

"…Them come back to finish the job." Andy finished, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Jesus!"

"Call Lieutenant Provenza," Sharon instructed Andy. "Have him arrange for patrol officers to be posted outside both Dean and Nicole's rooms." She reached for her own cell phone. "I'll call SID. Nicole's hospital room just became a crime scene."

* * *

The rest of the day passed in a blur of activity. Patrol arrived and set up outside both hospital rooms. They were followed not long after by SID, who thoroughly dusted Nicole's room for prints. There were so many from the various different people who had been in and out of there that it was going to take time to rule people out. Sharon wasn't hopeful; the suspect would almost certainly have worn gloves. Buzz scanned security footage of the hospital corridor, starting 4 hours before Nicole's allergic reaction, but again, there were so many people coming and going that it was a mammoth task, even with his new facial recognition software. Tao's medical background had made him the perfect member of the team to liaise with Doctor Walker about Nicole's condition and to study Dean's medical records to see if there had been any similar interference.

Sharon and Provenza worked to coordinate interviews of the other patients and their visitors as well as every rostered member of staff. They were about half way through when Rusty and Ricky arrived with Devon and Kodey, after picking them up from school. Sharon had arranged to take them home, feed them and put them to bed. Rusty had to return to college for a late class and the boys didn't really know Ricky well enough for him to babysit them alone.

The day wasn't all bad though. Dean had regained consciousness shortly after lunch and, by the time his sons arrived, was asking to see them. Naturally, the boys had been more than a little excited, bouncing up and down and talking a mile a minute when they saw their father. Dean tried to keep up with them but was still heavily medicated, so it wasn't long before his energy levels began to flag. As Dean sank back onto the pillows, barely able to keep his eyes open, Sharon decided that was enough.

"Okay you two, time to go," she announced, holding out their jackets for them. "Daddy needs to rest. Say goodbye and let's get you both home for dinner. You'll see him again soon."

"Thank you for taking care of them," rasped Dean, as the boys zipped up their coats.

Approaching the bed, Sharon placed a hand on his arm. "It's no trouble, honestly. I am happy to do it."

Dean nodded and weakly raised his hand to wave at them as they left. After saying a quick goodbye to Dean's parents and Andy, Sharon and the boys headed out to the parking lot.

The rain was still coming down hard; it hadn't let up all day. Pulling their hoods up, Sharon and the boys ran to the car. As Sharon helped the boys inside they heard a shout.

"Devon! Kodey!"

Sharon lifted her head. Looking across the roof of the car she noticed a tall, blonde woman in casual clothes, leaning against a lamppost. There was a fleeting familiarity about her, but Sharon couldn't place her. Bending down again to make sure the boys were securely strapped in, Sharon asked Kodey, "Do you know that lady, honey?"

Kodey turned to look at the woman through the opposite window. "Nope."

"What about you Devon?

"I don't know…" Devon narrowed his eyes in concentration. "She looks kinda familiar."

Glancing at the woman again, Sharon's brow furrowed as the stranger began to walk towards the car. Devon was right, there was something familiar about her, but Sharon couldn't place her. Still, it was too much of a co-incidence that someone should approach them in the parking lot of the hospital in which Nicole had been attacked less than twenty-four hours previously. It warranted further investigation.

"Stay here." she ordered firmly, closing the door and locking the car. Rounding the rear of the car, she plastered on a smile as she intercepted the woman.

The woman made to turn and walk away but Sharon called out. "Excuse me." The woman stopped and shoved her hands into her pocket, refusing to meet Sharon's eye. "Do you know those children?" Sharon asked, signalling to the car.

As she did so, Sharon's coat fell open and the woman caught a glimpse of her badge at her hip. Her eyes widened. "I'm…y'know… a friend… of the family." She stumbled over her words, biting her lip. "I… I heard their father was in hospital… thought I'd, yknow, pay him a visit." The speed of her speech increased as she glanced around shiftily. "Anyway, I'd better get going."

The woman made to leave once more and Sharon caught a glimpse of green material under her coat. Scrubs. Suddenly, realisation dawned. She'd been in Nicole's hospital room! That woman was the nurse who had asked Andy and herself to leave Nicole's room the previous day.

"Hold on a moment." Sharon moved to block her path, but the woman pre-empted her. She pushed Sharon away, causing her to stumble, before running off across the car park.

Fortunately, Sharon managed to stay on her feet. She took off after the woman, thankful that she'd chosen to forgo her usual heels. A mass of grey filled her vision as she raced through the carpark, dodging the cars and visitors. A burning pain filled her lungs and her heart drummed fiercely in her chest. "Stop! Police!"

Turning the corner sharply, the suspect skidded on the wet grass allowing Sharon to gain on her. As she came alongside, she deliberately tripped the woman, causing her to fall forward. Sharon quickly sat on the woman's back, pinning her arms to the ground.

"What's your name?" Sharon asked breathlessly.

"Angela," spat the woman struggling beneath her. "Angela Lewis."

"Well, Angela. You are under arrest for the attempted murder of Dean and Nicole Rodgers." She cuffed Angela's hands behind her back. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights as I have explained them to you?"

Reaching into her pocket with her free hand, she pulled out her phone and scrolled to Lieutenant Provenza's name. He picked up after three rings. "Captain, I thought you were taking the boys home?"

"I was, but I was side-tracked. Can you come down to the bottom of the North Tower," she asked, adding, "without alerting Andy."

"Why? What's going on?"

"I think I've found the person responsible for Dean and Nicole's accident."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Okay, so here we start the process of unravelling all the threads and finding out who ran Nicole and Dean off the road and why. I hope it doesn't disappoint. This was always the plan, ever since the idea for this story was first implanted in my brain. I haven't heard from many people who have worked out who the attacker was... two, maybe three - so well done you guys.

This has been checked over by two different people, but all mistakes are my own.

* * *

"Meet Angela Lewis." Sharon held up a booking photo of a woman with blonde hair scraped back into a ponytail. "She approached myself, Devon and Kodey in the hospital parking lot as we were leaving. She was acting suspiciously and I recognised her as one of the nurses who treated Nicole shortly before her allergic reaction. When I challenged her, she ran. I gave chase."

"So how does she connect to Dean and Nicole?" asked Julio.

Sharon pinned the photo to the board, under the heading 'suspect'. "That has yet to be established. Miss Lewis is not feeling very co-operative at the moment."

Angela was being held in interview room two. She'd refused a lawyer and was invoking her right to remain silent – well, apart from protesting, loudly, that she'd done nothing wrong. Sharon was letting her stew for a while. Perhaps some time alone would make her more co-operative. If nothing else, it would give the team chance to regroup and gather any pertinent information.

"We found a key to the Best Western in Pasadena in her purse," Tao said, holding up the cheap, blue handbag. "I spoke to the manager; he said she's been staying there for just over three weeks. Alone. Amy and Buzz are on their way there now with a warrant to search the room, Ma'am."

"Good. Anything else?"

Julio raised his hand. "She entered the country on a Canadian passport on…" he flicked through the pages to find the entry stamp, "…January 3rd Ma'am, which fits with the time frame the motel manager gave us. I'm on hold with the Canadian authorities," he added, leaning back in his chair, "trying to get some background information."

Sharon studied the murder board, staring at the photo of their suspect. Who was this woman, and why would she want to hurt Nicole and Dean? At what point in her life had her path crossed with Andy's family? That was the biggest outstanding question in their investigation at the moment and the team's frustration was increasing with every dead end they encountered. What made it even more exasperating was that Sharon had a feeling that once they had the answer to that question everything else would click into place.

They'd run background checks on all of Dean and Nicole's colleagues and the majority of the people on their Facebook friends list. Aside from a few traffic offences and DUI's nothing had been flagged up. Dean's parents were retired and seemed to be upstanding citizens; there were no indications that anyone would have any reason to go after their son. Gina, Martin and Shane had checked out too. They could see no reason why someone would be targeting any of them through Nicole or Dean.

The team's first theory had been that the attack could have been related to Andy and his work with the LAPD. But they had also cross-checked Andy's past cases and nothing was jumping out. Anyone who had openly threatened him with retribution or revenge was still incarcerated. However, Andy had worked thousands of cases over the years so, without Angela's cooperation, they would have to do some serious digging to find a connection.

Sharon was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Julio finishing his phone call. "Okay, if you could email that information… great. Thank you." He hung up and turned to her and Tao. "Okay, the passport is a fake, but they found a US citizen named Angela Lewis with the same date of birth, living in Toronto. She married a Canadian, Tim Lewis last August. Surname given at the time of the marriage was Clark. They're sending over a copy of the marriage certificate."

"I'll run her maiden name." Tao was already typing the details into his laptop. "What's her date of birth again?" he asked.

Julio glanced at the passport. "October 2nd 1985."

Tao entered the information and hit enter. He shook his head. "Nothing."

"What about prints?" Julio suggested. "Even if she refuses, we have her purse and phone. They've gotta have prints, surely?" Julio picked up the evidence bag containing Angela Lewis' purse and tossed it to Tao.

Tao emptied out the contents and examined the purse carefully. "Hmmm." He reached into his desk drawer for his fingerprinting kit. He brushed the front of the bag with dust. "There might be a few usable prints. But a match depends on her already being in the system."

"Hold on!" Sharon exclaimed, frantically searching the desk in front of her. She let out a small sound of triumph as she located what she was looking for. A pink file. She opened it and began flicking through the pages. "What did you say her maiden name was?"

"Clark, ma'am. Angela Clark"

Sharon's eyes scanned the page for a few seconds before a short gasp indicated she'd found the information she was searching for. "Oh my God. It's right here. Carolyn Angela Clark. Our suspect is Dean's ex-wife." She slammed the file down on the desk, frustrated that she hadn't made the connection sooner.

All eyes turned to where Devon and Kodey sat playing in Sharon's office. They had returned to PAB with her after she had arrested the suspect. In a scene reminiscent of one four days ago, she had settled them with their tablets while she worked the case of their father and stepmother's attack.

"Their mother did this?" Tao asked, eyebrows raised.

"It's starting to look that way," replied Sharon, her eyes never leaving her office. If she was right… those poor boys…

"Geez."

Sharon shook her head and turned to Tao. "Can we get a copy of her DMV photo from before she vanished?"

A couple of minutes and several clicks later, Tao was pulling a copy from the printer. He placed it on the board, next to Angela Lewis' booking photo. Sharon, Julio and Tao stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the murder board, examining the two images.

"She's started using her middle name," Julio began, "and changed the style and colour of her hair but…"

Tao tapped the older photo. "It's definitely her."

Sharon's hands found her hips, her gaze boring into the vacant, unseeing gaze of Angela's photo. How the hell was she going to tell Andy?

* * *

It had taken several hours to gather all the evidence and begin sorting through the information. During that time, Rusty's class had finished and he'd dropped by the murder room to pick up Devon and Kodey. Assuring the boys that Rusty could do story voices just as well as she could, she bid them goodnight and waved them off home. It was highly unlikely that she would get home before they went to bed.

All the items found in Angela Lewis' motel room had been examined and logged into evidence, along with those seized when she was arrested. In the motel room safe they had found three plane tickets to Canada; a return in her name and two one-ways, one for each of the boys. Alongside the tickets, there had been another two fake Canadian passports in Devon and Kodey's names with room to insert a recent photograph.

There were piles of photos of the boys taken with a long range lens. Photos of them at the park, at the beach, getting in and out of the car, in the school playground. All of them date stamped within the past three weeks. There were pictures of Nicole and Dean too, at work, shopping, jogging. There were even photos of her and Andy, of Rusty and of Gina and Martin when they had been with the family.

In addition to her regular cell phone, Angela also had a burner phone. Tao and Buzz were tracing the numbers in the recent calls list to see if that gave them any leads. It was clear to them all that Angela Lewis had wanted to snatch her children from their father but they needed proof, something concrete for the DA to work with. Sharon had requested Hobbs be assigned to the case. Rios was tenacious and tough, there was no doubt about that, but Hobbs was every bit of that and more; she wouldn't allow her ego to get in the way of closing the case.

Sharon felt guilty for not looking into Dean's ex-wife from the start. They'd run her name but had come up with nothing. It was like Andy had told Cynthia after the accident; she'd just disappeared. After the divorce, there was no record of her anywhere. She hadn't had a job or a car in the US for the past three years. There was no record of her leaving the country either so they'd hit a dead end. However, they'd had no reason to believe that she would do anything like this. That could change once they spoke with Dean, but Sharon had decided to hold off informing them that they had his ex-wife in custody until tomorrow, to give him time to regain more strength.

Aside from the evidence, there was something else that Sharon needed. She had questions that needed answers. The first and foremost of them being, why now? Angela had been out of their lives for almost five years. Why return now? Also, why plan to snatch the boys? She still had parental rights and could have petitioned the court for custody. Until Sharon had an inkling about the answers to either of those questions, she wasn't sure how to proceed with Angela's interview.

It was all starting to give Sharon a headache. She sat in her office rubbing her temples, listening to the team throw out theory after theory in the murder room. Wearily, she looked at the clock. 7.20pm. Every member of the division had volunteered to work late. They were preparing to begin interviewing Miss Lewis tonight if possible. As a gesture of thanks, Sharon had ordered them all pizza but hers sat untouched on her desk. She didn't really feel like eating.

Provenza flipped through a pile of images taken from the motel room. "It's clear that she's guilty as hell, but how do we prove it?"

"Dunno yet sir," chimed Julio. "Hopefully SID will find something when they've finished processing the motel room." Unlike, Major Crimes, SID weren't willing to put in the overtime.

"That's all well and good Julio, but we need something now."

"I may have it," announced Tao. "I've got a hit on one of the numbers on her phone. It's an LA area code."

Upon hearing they may have made a breakthrough, Sharon moved to the doorway. "Mike, who does that number belong to?"

"It's registered to a Tom and Danielle Carter." Mike tapped a few keys on his keyboard. "And their Facebook profiles says they are friends with Dean."

Sharon nodded to Provenza, lips narrowing to a thin pink line. "Pick them up."

"What is this about?" Danielle Carter stomped into the conference room. She was not happy. "Why did I have to come down here at," she looked at her watch, "almost nine pm?"

When they'd arrived at the house, she had been the only occupant of the house. Her husband was away in Connecticut, speaking at a conference. They had asked her to accompany them to PAB as they believed she was a witness to a crime.

"Please take a seat, Mrs Carter," Provenza said, gesturing to the table sat in the middle of the interview room.

"I think I'll stand, thanks." Danielle folded her arms across her chest. "So, what crime am I supposed to have witnessed?"

"Why don't you let us ask the questions hmm?" suggested Provenza. "Let's start with an easy one. How do you know Dean Rodgers?" He lay a copy Dean's DMV photo on the table.

That got her attention. "Dean? Is this about the accident? How can I be a witness to that? I wasn't there. I don't know anything about it."

"Sometimes, people know more than they think," Sykes said. "Please just answer the question Miss Carter."

With a defeated sigh, Danielle took a seat opposite the detectives. "Dean and my husband, Tom, went to college together. They were roommates. Tom was pre-law and Dean was studying Business."

"So you've known him for… how long?"

"Since Tom and I met ten years ago. Why?"

"Ten years… so you must have known Dean's first wife too? Carolyn Angela Rodgers?" Sykes added, ignoring her question.

She nodded. "Carrie, yes. We went out together sometimes, the four of us. Dinner, drinks, that sort of thing. I guess you could say we were friends… Until she left."

"Yes, we heard about that. What happened?" They had Dean's version of events, but an outsider's view might give them something else to work with.

"She just upped and left one day out of the blue. Little Kodey was only 6 months old… I thought it was post-partum depression, that she'd get herself some help and then come back but she didn't."

"Have you seen or heard from her since she left?"

Danielle worried her bottom lip with her teeth. She glanced from Provenza to Sykes and back again. "My husband can't know… please…"

Provenza and Sykes shared a look. "We'll do our best to ensure that doesn't happen," assured Sykes. They couldn't promise that whatever she was going to say would remain confidential, but it wasn't a lie – they didn't want to put witnesses in problematic situations if they didn't have to.

"Carrie calls occasionally. The first time was completely out of the blue about a year after she left. She wanted to check on the kids. I told her to speak to Dean but she said she couldn't face him. She sounded genuinely remorseful…" Danielle shook her head. "I felt guilty; I wondered if maybe I'd been there for her a bit more, that maybe things wouldn't have gotten to that point… so I told her how the kids were doing. She called again a couple of months later; I speak to her three or four times a year maybe. Look, I don't understand. What has any of this got to do with Dean and Nicole's accident?"

Sykes glanced at Provenza. The Lieutenant nodded and Amy steeled herself to deliver the news. "Actually Mrs Carter, it looks less like and accident and more like someone ran them off the road."

"What?! And you… you think it was Carrie."

"The evidence appears to suggest that," Provenza confirmed.

Silence fell as Danielle processed the lieutenant's words. "Oh my God," she muttered after a few moments. "Oh my God. Oh my God."

"Mrs Carter, what is it?" Amy asked gently.

"This is my fault," she cried. "This is all my fault." She struggled for a few moments, gasping for breath as her panic became ever more apparent.

Provenza's brow furrowed. "Take a breath," he coached. "That's it, nice and slow." When she was calmer he continued. "Now why would you think that this is your fault?"

"I called her…" She shifted in her seat. "Tom practises family law and Dean had asked him about the process of severing Carrie's parental rights. He said that Nicole wanted to adopt them. I just thought she should know," Danielle sobbed, "as their mother."

Watching from the electronics room, Sharon slapped her hand against the desk. " _That's_ why she came back." She pushed her chair back and stood up. "Now I have a conversation starter with Angela Lewis."

* * *

 **A/N2:** Do leave me a review to let me know what you think of the revelations so far...


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